Vanishing Soul
by Hejmdal
Summary: Natsu wakes up in a dark place suffering from wounds he doesn't recall receiving. He doesn't know where he is or why he has a creeping feeling that he needs to get to a certain place in time. There is something evil lurking in the shadows and only time will tell which horrors awaits him. NaLu as the story progresses. Rated for language, violence and torture.
1. Beneath Civilization

**A/N:** Yo! And welcome to my latest story.

This chapter is sort of an introduction to the story, that's why it might seem a bit strange but it'll get better once the story progresses. So there are a few things you need to know before reading this story.

1\. About loooove: you might think that there isn't going to be any pairings in this story, but I promise there will be some sweet loving eventually. With that said, there will be evil situations where you might think: "how can you be so evil towards him? Are you a psycho crazy maniac?" Well maybe... but it's all good and something good will come of it eventually. You know what they say, the food taste better when you have to work for it, right? ^^

3\. For those of you who have read "The Island" this is a completely different story. As such I'll keep my notes to a minimum to keep the story more dramatic :)

4\. About Natsu: He might be slightly more mature in this story so he isn't as reckless as he might be in the manga or anime. Some might argue that he's OOC in some situations, but as they say "Even the toughest cookie crumbles when the fat lady stomps on it".

5\. Things written in italic/cursive are thoughts... _yeah baby, yeah!_ Or well the beginning of this chapter isn't because it's an introduction-thingy.

That's it for now. I hope you enjoy the story :)

/Hejmdal

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Beneath Civilization**

… _mistake... because of one little mistake something simple became problematic. No, problematic wasn't sufficient to describe his current situation... a situation he was to blame from even occurring... and for that he had to face the consequences... if only he hadn't averted his attention in that fateful moment ... It had been a mistake... yes, a horrible mistake... a mistake he unfortunately couldn't remember but it was because of that, Natsu now found himself engulfed in darkness..._

A screech like something from another universe went through the dark cave until it slowly died out and left nothing but silence. The unnatural sound made Natsu flinch as he gained his consciousness. At first he wasn't sure what was going on or where he was. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was laying curled up on his side in a very dark and cold place with both hands restrained behind his back, in what he instantly presumed was handcuffs. Besides that he could feel that there was some cloth covering his eyes and another piece of cloth in his mouth, meaning he was gagged and blindfolded.

For some reason he felt nauseous and dizzy, but he knew it could be fatal vomiting while his mouth was covered with cloth. He soon forgot the nauseating feeling though, as a sharp pain suddenly shot through his head making him clench his teeth firmly against each other.

_Why did his head hurt so much?_ _What happened to make him lay in this pitiful state?_

He tried taking in a few deep breaths but the amount of oxygen entering his lunges wasn't sufficient because of the cloth in his mouth. This was bad and he knew he had to take care of the cloth right away if he didn't want to die from suffocation. With that in mind he tried igniting his hands but unfortunately nothing happened.

_Damn it! Fucking magic restricting handcuffs_, he thought while growling in frustration and anger.

He was furious and his confusion about the whole situation didn't lessen that feeling. On the contrary he could feel his blood boiling inside his veins, making him twist and turn as he tried getting out of the handcuffs. But it didn't work and soon he found himself gasping for air.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ Natsu tried taking in a few deep breath to calm himself _There had to be something he could do? But what? _As the oxygen entered his body he could feel himself calming down. He knew that panicking and getting too hot heated would lead him no where good in this kind of situation, so it was essential he gained his composure.

Once he was calm enough he tried once again to pull his hands through the handcuffs, and as he did he noticed that there was a tiny gap between the handcuffs and his skin.

_This is it!_ A small smirk appeared on his lips as he started pushing his hands against the cold handcuffs. Even if they were a bit loose it would still hurt like hell forcing his hands through them, especially because the uneven and jagged edges of the handcuffs made them sharp as tiny blades. But he didn't really care about the unavoidable pain that this method would bring him. _No_, he knew that he had to do this if he wanted to get out of this alive. And he would rather pay the price of a few cuts than dying in a place like this! _Hell no!_

Before starting on his task he took in a deep breath to focus and as he did a flash suddenly appeared in his mind. He wasn't sure what it was but he got the feeling that something terrible was going to happen if he didn't pull his act together immediately. The feeling vanished as quickly as it came and left him puzzled for a second. _Maybe it was his instinct kicking in? _Whatever it was he didn't want to dwell on it, because if it was true then he didn't have time to be laying there like a helpless idiot thinking about what was going to happen or not.

Clenching his fists he started pushing his hands against the handcuffs a few times to figure out how much pressure was needed to force his hands through them. _A lot it would seem_ a shiver ran down his spine as he felt the cold surface of the handcuffs dig into his flesh, making the skin tear open in small wounds.

_Fuck,_ he took a deep breath and started pushing his hands against the handcuffs again, but this time he used more force, resulting in the edges digging even deeper into his wrists. As they did Natsu could feel how the handcuffs edges ripped his skin apart, making blood flow down his hands in a steady stream. _It hurt like fucking hell,_ especially when the handcuffs got to the meaty part of his hand where it seemed to get stuck in his flesh.

_Damn it!_ He cursed mentally as he tried with more force to pull his hands free, but it only resulted in the handcuffs tearing into the meat, making it bleed more rapidly down his hands. _Wait_... he tried twisting his hands against the handcuffs. _The blood might actually be an advantage as it could function as some sort of lubricant_...? A smirk appeared on his lips as he felt a wave of energy rush through him. The adrenaline level was rising, making it easy to ignore the pain from his wounds and thereby making him even more determined on his task.

_Let's do this_, Natsu let out a muffled roar as he used all of his strength to force his hands through the handcuffs. He could feel the edges cutting even deeper into the meat in his hands, but he ignored it and kept pushing. Fortunately a couple of seconds later the handcuffs seemed to edge over the meaty part of his hand until it finally slipped across his skin making Natsu's hands glide through the holes. As they did he could practically feel how the weight of the handcuffs vanished as they fell to the ground, where he heard them land in something that made a dull splashing sound. He couldn't see it but he instantly knew that they had landed in his blood, that was flowing down his hands in an even stream.

_Hell yeah!_ He praised himself as he removed the cloth from his mouth making him gasp for air for a few seconds, before removing the blindfold covering his eyes.

"Where am I?" he whispered to himself and the darkness surrounding him "It's too fucking dark" a growl of fury escaped his lips as he got into a sitting position where he ignited one off his hands. The flame was extremely small but it was sufficient enough for Natsu to get a quick view of the area around him.

"Mmm" it didn't look like anything much but he did get the feeling that he was being kept in some sort of cave "Mmm, hm... well this is new..." He turned his head a few times before glancing down at the wounds on his wrists.

"He!" He snickered while staring at the blood running down his hands covering his fingers with the sticky substance. To be honest he knew it could have been a lot worse, but he also knew that he had to tend to some of them right away because some of the wounds were than superficial. _Well fortunately the flame isn't affected by the blood_ he thought as he stared at his hands.

"Hmm, well there's no reason just sitting here and... ugh!" he growled as an excruciating headache suddenly shot through his skull making him hive for air. _What the fuck?!_ The headache seemed to pulsate through his skull like a thunderstorm that was trying to electrocute every single cell inside of his head.

"Argh!" he growled while narrowing his eyes. For some reason his surroundings was getting more and more blurry making tears form in the corner of his eyes "Damn it" he moaned as he extinguished his flames and grabbed his head, holding it firmly between his hands.

_Why... what happened to make him suffer like this?_ He thought while gritting his teeth firmly against each other. _This is so..._ hiving for air he kept sitting still in his position as he felt a thin layer of cold sweat starting to spawn across his body making him shiver involuntarily.

Natsu didn't know for how long he just sat there waiting for the pain to go away but eventually it started evaporating, replacing the insufferable headache with an uncomfortable dizziness.

_Damn it!_ he cursed as the world started to get more blurry, making him nauseous _Damn it, damn it, damn it!_ The saliva in his mouth started spawning at a more rapid rate that had a certain metallic taste to it, and of course Natsu knew what that implied, as he leaned forward on his hands where he emptied whatever was left in his stomach. It tasted awful but he didn't care. He was quite experienced when it came to this matter due to his motion sickness. Of course this was a different situation than normal, but nonetheless it was the same procedure.

Once he had emptied his stomach he spat on the ground while taking in a few deep breaths. His head felt numb and his body was aching all over for some unknown reason. With slow movements he got back into a sitting position. _Fucking annoying..._

Smacking his tongue in his mouth he wished he had something to drink to take away the repelling taste. But he didn't know where he was and he was absolutely sure he didn't have anything with him.

Closing his eyes he could feel how the numbness in his head seemed to spread throughout his body, making his muscles ache and almost hum in anticipation of rest. _But why? How...?_ He wondered as while trying desperately tried to fight the fatigue from conquering his body.

_No, I have to go... I have to... what?_ There was something there... something... creeping. _What is this?_ He wondered as he felt something creeping inside of his mind covering everything like a black blanket that wanted nothing more than to engulf his entire being in the darkness.

_What?_ He quickly wondered as he felt his body suddenly falling, until he eventually hit the ground.

* * *

It was cold but it wasn't insufferable just... well unpleasant somehow. His eyelids felt heavy for some reason, but none the less he opened them to stare at the darkness surrounding him.

"Huh?" Natsu whispered in a low voice while turning his head a few times, trying to figure out exactly where he was laying. For some reason it didn't feel like he was in the cave any more. The air around him was... different... colder... more... _claustrophobic?_

For a split second he thought he saw something through the corner of his eyes and he immediately turned his head to stare in it's direction, but it was gone in an instant. _What was that?_

"Natsu..."

He froze as he recognised Lucy's voice. It didn't sound like she was in danger or anything... _but why would she be calling him in a place like this?_

"Lucy!" He yelled as he leapt into a standing position "where are you?" turning around on his feet he tried searching for something, anything that might lead him in her direction. But he couldn't find her scent anywhere. It was as if she wasn't even there. _How was that possible?_ He wondered while calling her name once more. But he still didn't receive an answer.

"Lu..." he started but he didn't get time to finish his sentence, because a sudden freezing wind suddenly spawned hitting him head-on. _What the fuck..?_ he growled mentally as he raised his arms in front of him to protect his face from the sudden outburst.

"Damn it!" he yelled furiously as the wind seemed to escalate, ruffling his hair and making his cloth lash wildly around his body.

Suddenly a deep voice spoke from behind him "Who are you? Are you Natsu?"

Natsu jumped slightly in surprise because he didn't smell nor hear anyone approaching him. Actually he still couldn't sense the other person who was speaking to him. Growling in fury and annoyance he tried turning his head in the voice direction, but it was rather hard with the wind blowing against him.

"Yes I'm Natsu! Who the fuck are you?"

"Good, I speak on behalf of Lucy. She told me to tell you she was running late. You know women right? Haha!"

"What do you mean running late? Where is she?" grunting he succeeded in turning on his feet to glare in the direction he heard the voice, but there was nothing there. _No, the only thing was the darkness surrounding him._ There was no presence, no smell, nothing...

"God damn it it!" furious and confused he ignited his hands while growling towards the darkness. _No matter what, he would figure out what this place was and he sure as hell would make sure nothing happened to Lucy. _The wind was still blowing at a fast rate making his flames flare dangerously and menacingly almost as if the flames was trying to portray his current mood.

As if intimidated by Natsu's vile mood the wind suddenly died down making him stand huffing against the emptiness in front of him. _This was annoying,_ and the fact that he didn't know what was going on didn't prevent his anger from growing.

His nerves and instincts was on alert trying to make sense of things. But it was all so confusing. _It was almost unnatural...?_ Clenching his fists tightly he glared in all directions to find something that might explain his situation. As he did, he noticed a presence of someone or perhaps something. Natsu wasn't sure what it was though, because the presence was so small that a normal person wouldn't have noticed it. Actually it didn't even sound or smell like anything he had ever encountered before. _What was that? _He wondered before roaring furiously "Who are you? Show yourself instead of creeping around like a coward!"

Narrowing his eyes he suddenly noticed a very faint silhouette spawning in front of him.

"Answer me..." grinding his teeth he glared as the silhouette seemed to take the form of something that resembled a human being.

"I said..." he stopped as the thing in front of him opened it's eyes. They were glowing red in his direction shining with something he could only describe as insanity. A shiver involuntarily went down Natsu's spine as he stared into the creature's eyes.

The thing seemed to notice the dragon slayer's hesitation as it grinned wickedly towards him, showing a bright set of teeth with a pair of canines that looked dangerously sharp.

_Well whatever this thing is, it might have the answer to all of this,_ Natsu thought as he got into a fighting position. As he did the silhouette started laughing in a high pitched voice. The sound was so unnatural and demonic, that it felt like his blood had turned cold, making a shiver run down his spine.

Even if his body seemed to respond with a frightening feeling, he wouldn't be intimidated by something like this. _No, just because he didn't know what it was he wouldn't fall for the thing's cheap tricks_. With that in mind he raised one of his hand while smirking towards the thing.

"I don't know who the fuck you are but I'll make you answer my questions even if I have to beat it out of you!"

The creature started laughing again making Natsu growl in anger.

"I'm not kidding! I will..."

"I know... oh... but you know what?"

"What?"

"You don't have time for this... remember?"

"What do you mean I don't have time for this? Remember what?"

"Tic, toc, tic, toc... the clock is ticking... yes... it'll be too late if you stay here..."

"What the fuck are you talking about...?"

Natsu almost screamed as he suddenly felt a hand grabbing his shoulder and with an incredible force turned him around to face a tall man he didn't recognise.

"Who..."

The man chuckled before opening his mouth revealing a mouth filled with decayed teeth. Natsu almost gagged because of the stench that reeked from the unknown man's mouth but caught himself from doing that as he heard the man in a hoarse voice say " the blonde was screaming like a bitch..."

Natsu stiffened for a second as he looked at the man and instantly knew, that this person had spoken to him just a few seconds ago. It was the same voice that told him that Lucy was running late. He still didn't know who he was, but he knew that this man was implying that something bad had happened with her.

With a growl he tried grabbing the man's throat but for some reason he couldn't get a hold of him. It was like touching air or something with a very slippery surface.

"For fucks sake..." Annoyed and frustrated he started hitting the man with his ignited hands but nothing seemed to work. He heard the man chuckle again as he once again spoke "The scream... makes me shiver... But I suggest you hurry if you want to see the blonde bitch alive again..."

The sentence made his blood boil with rage, as it rushed through his body like a wildfire making the adrenaline pump through his body. _This man..._ he thought as he continued trying to hit the man …_there's something dangerous about him_.

"Tic, toc... remember... time is of the essence..." the silhouette lured in a high pitched voice.

"Fuck..." Natsu turned his head slightly in the thing's direction and glared menacingly towards the silhouette with the red eyes "... don't fucking interrupt unless you have the answers I need!"

"Mm, hm... you'll know soon enough... yes..." the thing said with eyes glistening madly.

"You're not making any sense"

"No? Ding dong the bitch is dead, haha!"

The silhouette started laughing again in it's high pitched voice making the fury inside of Natsu escalate to a degree where he wasn't sure if he could keep himself in control.

"You son of a..." he said in a vicious tune as he turned around, leaping from his position with one hand raised above his head ready to strike the unknown thing in front of him.

"Tsch! I thought you learned something the last time..." The thing whispered in a gentle voice making Natsu confused for a second as he saw his hand go though the silhouette, making it vaporise instantaneously leaving nothing but thin air.

"What?" he whispered in confusion, before something hit him hard from behind, resulting in his vision getting more blurry as he stumbled on his feet until he suddenly started falling again.

* * *

A/N: Muahaha! I know I'm so devious. Well that's it for chapter one. Confused? The next chapter will explain a lot, so wait for it.

Anyhow, I hope you liked it :)


	2. Crawling Paranoia

**A/N:**Ding-ding-ding! Round 2! Fight!

… yeah I know, I can't help it... I'm a silly person who needs comic relief sometimes .

Anyhow, there will be some violence in this chapter but it is nothing compared to what I have saved for later on. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed typing it :)

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Crawling Paranoia**

The darkness that felt like it was consuming Natsu started evaporating and slowly he gained his consciousness once again. At first he was confused about his whereabouts but that feeling vanished instantly, as the sickening and sweet smell of his own blood reached his nostrils.

_Huh?_ Confused he opened his eyes and realised that he was still in the cave _Ohh, right...,_ he thought as he took a deep breath ..._whatever had transpired a movement ago must have happened while he was unconscious._ But he wasn't sure what his vision, or whatever it was meant and it confused him. He was fairly certain though that something terrible had happened, he just needed to figure out what that thing was. Especially because Natsu knew he had heard and seen the man with the repulsing mouth somewhere before. _But where...?_

Furious about the whole situation Natsu let out a growl as he glared at the darkness that surrounded him. If there was something he hated more than anything it was being uncertain and confused about what was going on. Especially if his friends life was at stake.

A low thud like sound, made him turn his head to look down in his hands direction and even though he couldn't fully see the extent of the damage at the moment, he knew instinctively that it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Especially since he didn't know for how long he was unconscious.

_Well better get this shit over with_, taking in a deep breath he slowly got into a sitting position. He didn't feel as dizzy or nauseous as he had the last time he gained his consciousness and for that he felt relieved for a second. But he didn't have time to feel grateful for such a minor thing so instead he ignited his hands making two small flames appear in the palm of his hands. As they appeared he made a quick scan around the cave making sure he was alone before examining his wrists.

"Damn..." fortunately the majority of the cuts wasn't that deep. Of course he knew this from the last time he inspected his wounds, but the unfortunate and deep ones were still bleeding in an even flow down his hands and onto the ground. He noticed that some of the blood on his hands was already dried up, so he knew he must have been unconscious for a while.

"Whoever invented handcuffs should get their ass kicked" he said in a sarcastic voice while glaring at the wounds again, unsure of how to deal with his hands. Well, he knew he had to do something about it not only because it would be a critical factor if he lost too much blood in a place like this, but also because the blood made his hands slippery which was a huge disadvantage, considering he didn't know what could potentially happen, or if he had to get in a fight. Knowing his luck that was probably bound to happen sooner or later, especially because he really wanted to kick that stupid silhouette thingy and that man with the foul mouth.

_Bandages... something to wrap... cloth... oh!_ Smirking, he put out his flames before removing his shirt which he started tearing apart to make some improvised bandages to wrap around his wrists. It didn't take him many minutes to accomplish his task and soon his wounds was covered with cloth, preventing it from bleeding too much. It should be sufficient enough for now, but if the wounds kept bleeding he might have to use his flames to melt his skin surrounding the cuts. But that was a final option he didn't want to resort to at the moment. Besides his own natural healing abilities was quite unique, so there was a slight chance that it would be enough until the bleeding eventually stopped on it's own. Well either that or he might actually find a healer soon enough that could close it up nicely. That all depended on how much time he would have to spend in this god damn cave, but he sure as hell wouldn't be there any longer than he had to.

Igniting his hands once again Natsu took a quick look on the work he'd done. The bandages was wrapped tightly around his wrists and the lower part of his hands, preventing blood from flowing from his wounds and he had to admit, that it was pretty well done considering there wasn't enough light, to actually see anything.

So satisfied with his work Natsu got into a standing position to inspect his surroundings more thoroughly. As he first assumed it was a huge cave that was surrounded by rocks. There was only one entrance to his current position and by the looks of it the ground was rising into something further above. So basically he must have fallen down the path in front of him that lead him to this isolated place. Another fact he noticed was that the sun was completely blocked out leaving a rather cold and moist like atmosphere. Natsu knew that those facts would essentially mean that he was somewhere below the ground, but how and why he was there was still unclear to him.

A wave of dizziness went through his body again but it wasn't nearly as unpleasant as the previous ones. But it was still uncomfortable and it made him stagger on his feet, making it hard to keep his balance. "Tsch!" he hissed while slamming his back reluctantly against the stone wall, so it might provide him with some stability and prevent him from falling on his feet.

"Damn it I don't have time for this" whispering he placed one of his hands above his eyes. He knew that the move was unnecessary because there wasn't any light he needed to protect his eyes from. _No,_ it was purely based on an old habit and maybe, just maybe it might help him somehow.

Natsu stood there for a few seconds while slowly taking in a few deep breaths hoping that the feeling would disappear soon. It was annoying, _like really fucking annoying_, just standing there but he knew it wouldn't do him any good if he recklessly kept going and ignored his physical condition and that was mainly because the nauseating feeling might provoke his motion sickness to kick in, making him even more pathetic than he already was. Besides that he might get another headache which he really didn't want at the moment.

So with that in mind, Natsu considered that this might be a good opportunity to figure out where he was and what lead him to this situation. _The man in his vision had indicated that something bad had happened to Lucy.. but what? And who was that other person with the glowing eyes? Was he just a spawn of his imagination or was he real?_ The more he thought about it the more convinced he was, that the man with the rotten teeth was a person he had encountered before. _But where?_

Growling in annoyance he pressed his hands hard against his face almost as if it might provoke his memories to resurface, from where ever it was hidden inside of his mind. Unfortunately it didn't and he couldn't prevent himself from swearing as he moved his fingers to peer through them and into the darkness in front of him. Somehow he would figure out what was going on and when he did there wasn't anything or anyone that could prevent him from going full force against the culprit that had brought him in this situation.

… _culprit... _for some reason an image of the man with the repelling mouth spawned inside of his mind, making him instinctively clench his teeth harder against each other. _What was it with this person? Was he to blame for all of this?_

As if fate wanted to play a trick on him a mental image of Lucy saying his name resurfaced. She looked so happy as she winked teasingly towards him. _But... why was he remembering that? Why couldn't he remember anything? And what the fuck did the silhouette thing mean by "I thought you learned something the last time...". What? Last time what?_

Annoyed he removed his hands from his face and started stroking the back of his head. There was definitely a lump there and it was quite sore. Judging by the size of it he must have received it a couple of hours ago. That would mean he might have gotten it seconds before being thrown into the cave and considering the sentence uttered by the silhouette it did imply that the unknown man in his vision was to blame for hitting him and thereby making him unconscious in the first place.

The dizziness finally seemed to leave his body and as it did Natsu sighed in relief hoping that he would soon receive the answers he needed.

"About time... I should..." something seemed to spark inside his mind "... I..." parting his lips in shock he kept leaning against the cave wall as he felt his memories suddenly returning, slamming his mind with full force. The pure impact as well as the scenario that played inside of his head, made him widen his eyes in horror.

The images in his mind was playing the decisive scene in full length, but fortunately it stopped after a few seconds and switched into being a newly acquired memory. When it did Natsu was covering his mouth with one of his hands and staring into the thin air with a haunted look.

"Shit!" He cursed in a furious and pained voice before igniting his hands and leaping from his position running with all of his might, towards something he had to prevent from happening.

* * *

_Flashback..._

Natsu was eating a huge bowl of fried chicken when he entered the room they had rented at the inn. They had just finished a fairly easy mission and to celebrate Lucy was out buying books. Why she would use her precious time buying boring stuff was puzzling, but then again there was a lot of aspects about her personality he didn't understand. _Well, there are a lot of things about women that's weird_... he thought as he slammed the door to the room shut with his foot … _But that's also one of the reasons it's interesting getting to know her nature and why she would react the way she does_...

While munching on a chicken leg he turned his head and noticed a piece of paper laying on the table. If he was correct it was a note from Lucy telling him to clean up some of the mess he had caused during the mission and possibly there was a huge rant about him being a reckless idiotic punk who should behave like a decent person once in awhile. With a sigh he prepared himself mentally before grabbing the note and reading it. Fortunately for him it wasn't what he had been anticipating.

"So how much trouble are you in this time?"

Natsu turned to stare at Happy and smiled brightly before handing him the note.

"Not so much it would seem. She's asking me to meet her down town because there's something she wants to discuss with me alone"

"Ohhh..." the cat sang in a very knowing way "She wants to share her fish with you"

"Well if she wants to share a fish with me she should bring it back here. I mean we have a kitchen and all so it wouldn't make sense unless she wants to eat it raw. Do you think she likes it raw?" he said while winching inwardly.

"... that's not what I meant..."

Natsu blinked in confusion towards the cat before grinning his characteristic smile.

"Well I better get going. You know how angry she gets when she has to wait"

"Aye! You should stop eating right away or you might get late!"

"No way!"

"Yes! Remember the last time, you left her waiting?"

"... ohhh..."

After reluctantly handing over the last few pieces of his fried chicken to Happy, Natsu turned around to leave the room and find Lucy.

"Mmm, matsu? Muyu smarf" Happy mumbled as he tried pushing all the chicken into his mouth.

"Huh?"

"Yu smarf?"

Natsu blinked a few times as he watched the cat point a paw towards his scarf.

"Ohh, my scarf. Well this shouldn't take long, so I'll just leave it here. Keep it safe, okay?"

"Mm-hm!"

The dragon slayer grinned towards the cat, who made a quick saluting gesture towards him, before taking yet another piece of chicken into his mouth making his cheeks bulge like balloons.

Natsu chuckled at the sight, before leaving the room. It didn't take him long to reach the place Lucy had mentioned in her note but for some reason he couldn't find her anywhere.

"Lucy!" He yelled while looking at every possible place she might be nearby.

"Hey you!"

"Yeah?"

Natsu turned around to face a rather tall man who was staring at him unpleasantly.

"Who are you? Are you Natsu?"

"Uhm yeah?"

"Good, I speak on behalf of Lucy. She told me to tell you she was running late. You know women right? Haha!"

Something was definitely wrong with this scenario. First of all this man reeked of something vial and rotten that made his instincts stand on high alert. Second this was not exactly the type of person Lucy would ever rely on handing over a message to him. _No he was too weird and too repulsing for her to even make contact_. _But then again..._ Lucy was a kind hearted person so it wouldn't come as a surprise if she had found it in her heart to look past his physical flaws. Besides the person didn't exactly look like he was violent or strong, so even if he did something dangerous Natsu was sure Lucy could beat him just by using her unique 'Lucy kick'.

"Uhm, okay thanks"

"No problem"

The man grinned widely revealing his rotten teeth and the smell made Natsu's stomach turn involuntarily. He had to get away from this foul stench if he wanted to prevent himself from puking all over the place. So with that in mind he raised his hand and waved it while turning his back against the man.

"Thanks for the message. See ya"

"Yeah... I'll be seeing you"

He didn't hear or see it coming until it was too late. The stench had somehow confused his instincts for a second and because of that he couldn't prevent the hit he felt at the back of his head sending a sharp pain through his skull until everything slowly started to fade away.

"Fuck" he uttered trying to prevent his consciousness from slipping away but it was all in vain and soon he felt his knees give up underneath him making him fall towards the ground.

Someone was talking but he couldn't tell who it was or what was being said. It almost felt like his head had been wrapped in a huge pile of cotton, dulling his senses and his connection to the outside world. But even though his perception of the entire situation was limited he could feel his muscles aching from being in the same position for too long. The pain in his muscles didn't lessen when he noticed that he was being swayed in an even, but yet odd pattern caused by whatever was underneath him.

A few minutes passed by and slowly Natsu gained more control of his senses which should have been a good thing considering the circumstances. Unfortunately the distinctive smell from the creature underneath him made him fully aware that he was being transported on a horse's back which almost immediately forced his motion sickness to activate.

Taking in a few deep breaths he managed to calm his stomach enough so he could at least figure out some facts before taking actions. Of course it would be nice just recklessly rolling off the horse and beating his captivators but for some reason his head felt empty. _No empty wasn't the right word_. It almost felt like his head had been dulled somehow preventing him to think straight. If that wasn't bad enough he could fell that his powers somehow had been drained to a very critical point making his odds even more uneven. To make matters worse he was blindfolded with both hands tied up behind his back making it even harder to do anything constructive. _Yeah this is definitely a good situatio__n_... he thought sarcastically as he took a deep breath to calm his stomach.

"Hey you awake yet?" a very deep and hoarse voice asked before delivering a hard punch to Natsu's back. The hit made him lose the air in his lunges sending him into a fit of coughs earning a few laughs from the persons who had presumably abducted him. _Thanks for that, fucktard_...

Unfortunately for Natsu the coughing had a negative effect on his motions sickness making an uncomfortable wave of nausea spread through his body and thereby making metallic tasting saliva to spawn in his mouth. Simultaneously, the muscles in his stomach started to tighten in an odd rhythm, trying to push his stomach's content in the opposite direction of where it was.

On pure instinct and without thinking about the consequences he rolled off the horse landing on the ground a few seconds later with a large thud. He didn't really feel the pain from the impact because his senses was too focused on his motion sickness and aching muscles, to pay attention to something so insignificant. However the steady earth underneath him made him feel slightly better making him crawl onto his knees and elbows where he stood shaking while gasping for air. As he did this his stomach seemed to settle, making the lump of vomit that had appeared in his throat to run back down to where it belonged.

"Hey! HEY! Who the fuck gave you permission to get off the horse, huh?" a voice yelled from what sounded like a person who was far away in the distant. But because his senses was so screwed at the moment Natsu knew that the person might be closer than he anticipated and sure enough a few seconds later he felt a hand grabbing a huge amount of his hair which the person pulled backwards in a quick and violent move making his neck snap into an uncomfortable position.

The pull made Natsu groan in agony and fury which ignited a smaller part of his more primal personality. So without thinking about the consequences he leaned forward on his elbows feeling a sharp pain from his skull from where the hair was being restrained. But he ignored it as he used the newly acquired gab between the person behind him and his bend muscles to shove his body backwards, crashing into the person's face.

There was a crunching sound when Natsu's head crashed against the captivator's head making the person behind him howl in pain. _Hell yeah...!_ A smirk formed on Natsu's lips when he felt the unknown man let go of his hair and his smile didn't lessen when he imagined how the person was trying to keep the blood from spouting all over the place from what he instinctively knew was a broken nose.

The adrenaline in his body was pumping and he felt confident in spite of the fact that he was restrained and couldn't see anything. Of course it didn't exactly help that his head felt like a hot air balloon that was drifting away, leaving him with no sense of rationality to think twice about his odds about making it away alive, especially because of the many unknown factors he couldn't nor didn't take into account at the moment. Nothing really mattered besides the fact that he would teach them a lesson for their insolence and violent behaviour, by writing it in capital letters using their own blood.

_Let's get the show on the road._.. he thought as he gritted his teeth against each other. Right now his confidence was mile high. Maybe it was also because of the adrenaline that was pumping through his system. He didn't know, nor did it really matter.

… _right now!_ bending his knees he launched himself against the next person he heard running towards him. Natsu hit the unknown person with his head and instantly he heard a distinctive groan followed by a metallic sound hitting the ground, which he quickly assumed had to be a knife.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?! Seize him!" Natsu felt a wave of rage run through his body as he recognised the voice, knowing it was the same person who had knocked him unconscious.

"Don't think it'll be that easy you stupid son of a bitch!" the furious dragon slayer roared as he started running in the direction the vial person had spoken. He was so focused and overwhelmed by his emotions towards his target that he didn't hear the whipping sound until it was too late resulting in some sort of rope being wrapped tightly around his ankles. A few seconds later something pulled hard on the rope which made his feet vanish from underneath him, resulting in him hitting the ground again.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" a voice hissed in a weird broken voice behind Natsu. The metallic smell of blood reached his nose and instantly he had an idea of who the person was.

"Well consider yourself lucky I only broke your nose. If I wasn't blindfold I would have smashed your skull to a million pieces" he replied in a cold tone.

"You..." the person growled viciously before grabbing Natsu's hair once again pulling him upwards "... I'll show you how to smash a skull! Consider this a free lesson as thanks for what you did to my nose"

"Stop!" the man with the rotten teeth shouted.

"Why? This fucking kid broke my nose! I demand retaliation!"

"Well too freaking bad! Have you forgotten our mission, huh? What do you think IT will do if the dragon slayer doesn't get there in one piece?"

Natsu felt the hold on his hair tighten even more making him grit his teeth in fury and pain.

"I... I'm... sorry boss... I... didn't think" The man with the broken nose whimpered apologetically.

"Shut it Docar! We're almost there so lets just get this over with"

"Yes sir..."

Natsu could feel the radiating fury from his captivator pulsating as he dragged him by his hair for a few feet. He didn't know how much good this new information would do him at the moment, but now he knew that the person who was currently grabbing his hair was called Docar and the man with the foul mouth was the boss of the group.

"Oh Docar?"

"Yes master?"

"I don't mind you dragging him there but could you at least silence him?"

"Right away sir!"

The man let go of his hair making Natsu hive for air for a few seconds before hitting the ground yet again. For some reason he hadn't noticed that he was growling and roaring in defiance but now he could feel a small ache forming in his throat. However he didn't get to wonder about it because Docar had in a flash managed to let go of his hair and a heartbeat later Natsu was pinned to the ground with a firm hold.

"Hey Rasmox! Come here! Hold his feet!"

"Uhm... okay..." came the immediate answer in a flat and unenthusiastic tune before said person grabbed his legs with strong hands.

Docar chuckled menacingly as he sat on top of Natsu's torso and arms, preventing him from resisting.

"Now let's see... hmm... consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood or I would have smashed your skull to a million pieces"

"Tsch!" Natsu spat as he turned in what he knew was Docar's direction "says the person who has to call on his buddy to restrain me"

"You... you're really fucking lucky that I'm going to shut that dirty mouth of yours before I accidentally kill you"

He wanted to smirk because he succeeded in coming underneath Docar's skin but that feeling quickly vanished as he felt a hand grab his jaw trying to force it open.

"Open wide little mage! It's time for some medicine"

Natsu clenched his teeth firmly against each other but it was futile when he felt two fingers push extremely hard against his chins making his teeth separate just enough for a piece of cloth to make it's way inside of his mouth. The feeling of the cloth in his mouth was uncomfortable and the feeling didn't lessen when he felt that there was a rather huge amount of cloth being forced inside his mouth, which momentarily prevented air from entering his lunges. A nauseous feeling made him shiver involuntarily and he almost didn't register Docar wrapping some sort of cloth-like rope over his mouth and around his head.

"See? You're feeling much better aren't you? Rasmox take the rope and drag him"

"Why me?"

"Because I said so dumbass!"

"But... how am I supposed to drag him by the head? Wouldn't that.. you know.. make him suffocate or something?"

"You stupid idiot! Grab the rope around his legs! Not the cloth around his head!"

"Ohh... right... sorry..."

Natsu felt his body being dragged for a while but he didn't know for how long. He was having a hard time even staying conscious because his head was feeling numb again. Besides the small bumps and rocks on the road didn't exactly prevent his consciousness from fading. Actually he might have fainted a few times during the trip but he couldn't say for sure. At some point they stopped and he presumed that they had reached their destination.

"Brrr this place gives me the chills" the boss with the rotten teeth said in a whisper "Ahem, alright, lets end this shall we? Hey kid!"

Natsu made a muffled sound earning a few laughs from the group.

"Yeah, yeah I get it. You can't answer me but it's better this way because what I'm going to say will make your skin crawl. Well I guess it might be fun hearing you scream but you know what? I prefer girls and you should have heard it! The blonde was screaming like a bitch when they threw her into the cave"

Something inside of Natsu started to shatter as dread, anxiety but also an uncontrollable anger made it's way into his system making him bite hard on the cloth in his mouth while trying to stand up on unsteady legs.

"You want to stand? Well let me help you!"

The man grabbed his throat in an instant forcing him into a standing position.

"The scream... the scream was just marvellous kid! Just thinking about it makes me shiver in... uhm... delight... oh you stay still I'm not done yet! The condition is fairly simple. Make it out alive and you've paid your debt. That's it! But I suggest you hurry if you want to see the blonde bitch alive again... however in her condition it wouldn't surprise me if she was dead already..."

The hand around Natsu's throat was firm making it hard to breathe. But none the less he succeeded in making a painful growl as he tried to break free from his captivator's hold, but even though his instincts was forcing him to take actions nothing happened. Normally he could break free from almost any kind of situation by leaning on his will power and the extra strength it would provide him, but apparently and unbeknownst to Natsu the slight crack in his shattered mind was preventing him from getting control of the power burst... _fuck, fuck, fuck!_

"Goodbye Natsu Dragneel!"

The foul stench from the boss's teeth reached him before he felt something hit his skull making the darkness inside of his mind spread. His body felt numb and because of that he didn't feel the hand letting go nor did he feel the push that made him fall backwards into the cave.

He could hear the laughter from his captivators fade away in the distance and knew he was falling further down into the unknown. Natsu wasn't sure how long he fell but eventually he felt the last amount of his consciousness fade away as the darkness around him consumed everything. It was almost symbolic how the light from the sun faded simultaneously with him losing his consciousness until all light was devoured by the shadows, leaving everything covered in black.

* * *

_Present time..._

Natsu was running with both hands ignited and breathing heavily. His muscles was starting to ache because of the sudden sprint he had forced his body into, but it was nothing compared to what might occur if he didn't make it in time.

In the beginning all of his thoughts were occupied with his task but the further he ran the more he noticed his surroundings. There was something off about this place. Maybe it was due to the lack of sunlight because no matter where he ran everything was pitch black. Besides that there was no sign anywhere that might indicate where they had thrown him inside the cave. _Shouldn't there be some indication of sunlight or anything that might show him where that place might be somewhere? Or had he really fallen for so long that the surface was almost unreachable? That wouldn't even make sense because the fall alone should have killed him. Shouldn't it?_ _Or was his head playing tricks on him? _He didn't know nor did he really care at the moment.

At some point he had to stop running to lean against the cave wall where he stood panting for air for a few minutes. Natsu didn't know for how long he had been running or how far, but it felt like an eternity had gone by, since he realised what had happened in the past. Besides his head was still tingling unpleasantly and the running didn't exactly ease his condition. _No,_ his escalating pulse seemed to intensify his headache making it pulsate painfully in the same rhythm as his heartbeat.

Growling in anger and frustration he clenched one of his hands before hitting the stone wall. He knew he had to get a hold of himself and his overwhelming emotions because it was causing him to act irrational. But it was just so damn alluring giving in to the anger and let it guide his actions at the moment.

Taking in a deep breath he could feel how his headache seemed to vaporise as his heartbeat slowed down. _Well that's fucking fortunate, huh...?_ he thought as he got a hold of his fury before taking a good look around him as he ignited his hands and raised them. Natsu knew he was in a cave and from his running he also knew it was a really big cave, filled with curves and rooms making it seem like a maze. But that wasn't so surprising considering it was a cave that presumably was deeply hidden underneath the surface. It was one of those caves it might have taken nature aeons to create and in that sentence it was impressive. Not that he cared about that but it was a thing to take into account considering how vast and deep it might actually be.

Suddenly something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes but when he turned around the thing was gone. He couldn't smell or hear anything but he was absolutely certain that he saw something move for just a split second. Actually it felt like there was some weird presence but it was something he couldn't sense. His instincts was on high alert though as he scanned the cave.

Natsu knew to trust his instincts in most situations but he also knew that the hit on his head might have caused him to have a minor concussion which essentially could have an influence on his perception. But even considering that he was sure that there was something out there, he just couldn't determine what it was.

_This is so annoying_, growling he narrowed his eyes as he once again caught something move in a flash from somewhere deeper inside the cave where the light of his flames didn't reach.

"Damn it! Show yourself!" he spat in the direction he had caught the movement.

All of a sudden he could hear something. _But what?_ Standing still he focused on the sound. It almost sounded like... _laughter?_ As he thought this, the laughing sound seemed to escalate into a high pitched tone. _B__ut where did it come from?Who...? what...?_ It almost sounded like it came from somewhere right beside him but no matter how much he focused or where he turned, there wasn't anything other than thin air.

"Show yourself you coward!" he yelled in fury while clenching his hands.

The laughter seemed to intensify for a few seconds but suddenly it started to faint until it vanished completely.

"This is fucking bullshit!" he roared while turning around desperately to find any lead to where the person or thing might be. But still there wasn't anything or anyone. It was almost like the invisible presence had gotten a voice without revealing anything physically.

A cold breath near his ear made him shiver involuntarily as he quickly turned around to captivate whatever it was. But as quickly as the thing had spawned it was gone.

"Come on! Stop playing fucking games!"

A light touch on his shoulder made him turn around making him face the empty cave wall.

"God damn it!" he practically screamed. The adrenaline was pumping through his body, making his muscles almost vibrate with anticipation of knocking someone to the ground. _Whoever this is...or what it is... it doesn't matter... Lucy... Gotta find Lucy_...

"Mmm... such a foul mouth" a cold voice hissed close beside him. The sound was so unnatural it made Natsu freeze in his position. He could see something again from the corner of his eyes but for some reason he couldn't turn around to face it. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but something was preventing him from moving and was keeping him firmly in place. Whether that was due to primal fear or some unknown magic he couldn't tell.

"I wonder how long you'll last...it's been sooooo long since I had someone to play with" the icy voice continued making the hairs on Natsu's neck rise.

"What the fuck do you mean with that? Who are you?"

"Impatient... mmm, but you'll know soon enough..."

"I don't have time for this, damn it!"

"Ahh.. and angry as well... this'll be fun... yes... Do me a favour will you?"

"What? And why would I even listen to you?!" as he said this he could feel someone breathing close behind him. The smell of it reached his nostrils and it mystified him because it wasn't anything he had ever smelled before. Nor did he want to because it smelled like ice and something he could only describe as ..._death?_

"Hmm-hm... no, no, no... you're way off. You can't defy me. This is my realm. Mine... not yours... so silly... well... try not to lose your sanity too soon... It wouldn't be fun if you did"

"What the fuck do you mean by that?"

"... ahh... ha... you'll see... yes... underneath the surface everyone loses... something..."

And with that the presence was gone as if it had never been there, leaving no traces behind. It was so annoying, maddening and yet frightening it left Natsu with conflicted feelings. However his anger was still pulsating through his veins making him curse as he turned around trying to catch a last glimpse of whatever had been there a second ago.

Frustrated and infuriated he took in a deep breath before roaring loudly letting some of his feelings out, which made the once silent cave echo with the sound of an emotional dragon slayer, as his voice seemed to escalate throughout the cave. As he roared he vowed that he would figure out what was going on and he would sure as hell rescue Lucy no matter what fucking unnatural being he would have to encounter...

* * *

**A/N:** There you have it! The end of chapter 2. So we'll never know what Lucy did the last time, that might cause Natsu to leave his precious food, but I guess it's something mayor *shivers*.

So yeah you might have figured out Natsu got a minor concussion in the past, which have some effects on his physical condition.

As for the villains/thugs/whatever: they won't be a mayor element in this story. You might call them supporting actor's that only appears to justify the development in the plot line.

Bonus info: Rasmux is kind of a retard but he's good once you get to know him...

Have a nice day! This is Hejmdal signing out for today!


	3. Creeping Shadows

**A/N:** Thanks for favouring and reviewing! You guys are amazing :D

So yeah, even though this chapter is essential for the plot I still kind of hate it (but hooray it's short). But I guess that's because there will be so much yummy and evil stuff coming up later and I truly love those parts *puts her black cloak on and laughs like a crazy villain*

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Creeping Shadows**

He kept running. Just running. Natsu knew he should stop at some point soon because his body was practically screaming for a break. The muscles in his legs was aching painfully and it was getting harder to get enough oxygen to sustain his burning lunges. But he didn't want to stop. He had to find Lucy. The adrenaline level in his body was at its maximum and because of that he could ignore the pain and keep running. _Heck, he could even ignore the dizziness and his headache, that now felt like a mere memory from something that happened ages ago. _But he also knew that there would be a price to pay once he stopped running and it would most likely hurt like hell leaving him breathless and weak. In spite of this he didn't stop. Natsu kept running through the cave searching high and low but all he had found so far was empty space and rocks. And this made him even more furious and frustrated because he desperately needed something, anything, that could prove that she was alive. Of course he had faith in her ability to fight and he knew that she could keep herself alive with her own powers. _But what if...? If the opponent was stronger then there was a slight possibility that she was hurt. Or in the worst case scenario dead already. _He couldn't know that for sure since he hadn't sensed her since he entered this damn cave. This could of course be a good thing as well because she might have left already _or maybe... no_, he couldn't risk thinking like that at the moment.

Natsu was so consumed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the huge gap in the cave's floor until he felt his feet slip on the edge, making him curse furiously as he felt himself getting airborne for a few seconds. Fortunately for him he managed to turn around mid-air just in time to grab a piece of rock, he could use as a catalyst to throw himself back up and thereby avoid falling deeper down into the cave's maze.

"Ghh!" he exclaimed as his body collided with the cave floor. Normally he would have gotten back on his feet right away after pulling such a stunt. Hell, he might even have landed on his feet instead of using his back as a cushion.

"Damn it..." he said in a low voice barely above a whisper as he felt the backlash from running around recklessly, hit him with full force.

Panting he laid on his back while staring at his black surroundings. When he was running he had used his flames as torches but after nearly falling into the depths he had turned them off. There was no need in wasting too much of his magic when he wasn't searching. Besides there wasn't anything interesting to look at in the cave. In fact the only thing he saw in there was rocks, rocks and even more rocks. There was no hint of other animals, plants or even water. Now that he thought about it that was rather strange because even in the worst conditions nature always seemed to adapt somehow. Even if it was in a minor degree like bugs or something like that. But there was nothing. _Just nothing... no life... just him... all alone... in this cold isolated cave... _the thought made him think of Igneel and the time after he vanished. Leaving a small and crying dragon slayer alone to face the world.

Natsu felt his heart skip a beat as a rather unpleasant feeling rushed through his stomach, making it clench in pain for a few seconds. The pain from back then was still there just lurking under the surface waiting for someone to acknowledge it's existence. It was a part of him that he wanted to ignore because it was an unreasonable feeling he couldn't do anything about. But even if he told himself that and even if his own rationality could conquer it on a normal basis, it didn't help the fact that sometimes this feeling would consume him, like a bad dream waiting to assault his mind. He wasn't a melancholic person and it wasn't like the painful feeling haunted him every time he was alone. But sometimes... sometimes there was a small crack in his normally strong façade that showed the pain he felt deep in his soul. If the conditions were right it would surface... and unfortunately for Natsu the isolated feeling in the cave combined with exhaustion made this smaller part of his personality to reappear.

Gritting his teeth Natsu placed his hands above his eyes as if he wanted to shield the pain reflecting in them from the world to see. He felt something wet and sticky drip on his cheek before it slowly rolled down his face, landing on the floor with a thud. The smell of it was metallic and he knew without watching that the wounds on his wrists was bleeding again which was now causing small streaks of blood to appear on his cheeks.

Laying there he felt a sudden urge to laugh. He didn't know why because there wasn't anything to laugh about in his situation...

The feeling vanished all of a sudden replacing the weird feeling with another wave of sorrow that made his stomach twitch painfully again for a few seconds.

"Damn it..." he whispered in a broken voice before taking in a deep breath to settle his raging emotions. It took some time but eventually he calmed down. In a way it could be quite peaceful laying in silence just listening to the sound of himself exhaling and inhaling in a steady rhythm.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there. As a matter of fact he might even have dozed off at some point but he couldn't be sure.

"Ohh... are you a vampire?"

Natsu didn't sense anyone so he was startled by the voice suddenly appearing from out of nowhere. Not that he allowed that to have an impact on his judgement as he almost instantly got into a standing position with both hands ignited prepared to strike at any moment. His muscles were still tense from running, but his break had done a lot to ease the pain. Besides his body was filled with rage because he instantly recognised the voice belonging to the silhouette thingy he had encountered before. Unfortunately it was just like the last time where he couldn't pinpoint the thing's location due to lack of presence.

"Where the fuck are you?" he hissed between gritted teeth.

"Mmm... you have sharp canines... so you are a vampire, huh?" the voice teased.

"Stop messing with me! I'm not a fucking vampire!"

"Now, now there's no need to get angry... I just thought you might be a vampire seeing you crying blood and all..."

Growling Natsu turned around trying to pinpoint where the unknown person was, but because of the cave's echo and acoustics it sounded like the voice came from a lot of different directions. To make matters worse he still couldn't sense anything coming from the person, nor could he see anything that might be the person's aura. In a way it should creep him out because normal people would always give away some sort of presence besides their voice. But with this thing there wasn't anything.

For a second he saw something quickly flash in the corner of his eyes making him turn in it's

direction. But as quickly as the movement spawned it disappeared.

"Just show yourself already!"

Another movement caught his attention making him turn in a new direction. This time he definitely saw something. _But what was it? It was... dark... as if the shadows was moving on their own account._ But he couldn't be sure because the movement was gone a second after it appeared.

Suddenly a small childish laugh started echoing through the caves sending an involuntarily chill down his spine while he kept turning around frantically, determined to find the thing's location.

Igniting his hands with a wider flame, he noticed a movement behind him again but as soon as he turned around it was gone... again!

The situation made the dragon slayer furious, making him take a few deep breaths before yelling in a very menacing voice "Who ever you are show yourself! Only a coward hides in the shadows!"

The childish laughter stopped but other than that nothing seemed to happen, leaving a very angry dragon slayer surrounded by silence. Gritting his teeth he kept turning and looking for something that might reveal the thing's presence but nothing seemed to happen.

All of a sudden the childish laugh appeared again, this time it sounded like it was right behind him. Turning around he stared at the cave's wall. It was almost invisible to the naked eye but there was definitely something there in the shadows. _But what?_ For some reason the shadows on the wall seemed to tremble. _How could a shadow tremble?_

"What the fuck are you..." he said while narrowing his eyes in the shadows direction, that started to tremble even more before taking the form of something that looked like a human silhouette. As it took form Natsu noticed it was the same height as he was and even though he couldn't be sure it looked like a man. Of course he couldn't be sure because it was still rather blurry.

Slowly the shadow seemed to take a more steady form and it almost surprised him when the thing grinned deviously towards him, revealing a shinning set of teeth with very sharp canines.

"Tsch! Finally you show yourself! Now you're gonna tell me what I need to know..."

The shadow creature started laughing hysterically in a high pitched voice before whispering "Do you want to play with me?"

"No I don't want to play with you! I..."

Still laughing the silhouette started reaching a hand towards Natsu. It was a weird sight especially because the black shadows the hand was made off, slowly started to vaporised from the tip of the fingers and further down the hand revealing a physical form underneath the shadows.

Shocked Natsu stared at the process while almost gagging from the stench that came from the now revealed hand. It was reeking of something rotten and looking at the hand it was hardly surprising because it looked as if the hand was decaying. Or at least the meat was. That is, where there was still meat on the hand. In some places some of the flesh had fallen off revealing glistening bones which were spattered with dried blood.

Natsu had to take a step back because of the foul stench "Ugh, who and what are you?"

The shadow started laughing again while opening and closing the rotten hand.

"Come on Naaaatsu... play with me..."

All of a sudden two eyes became visible in the shadows shining red and menacingly towards the dragon slayer.

Annoyed with the whole situation Natsu growled before clenching his fists "I don't have time for this"

"Ohh, yes you do..."

"No! I have to find Lucy then I'm getting the hell out of this damn cave! But before that I will get some answers even if I have to kick your rotten ass!"

The shadow chuckled as it pointed a finger towards Natsu. It then started humming making Natsu growl with fury.

"Mmm, I would growl too if I had pink hair..."

"You son of a..." Natsu sweared before raising his arm getting ready to attack.

"The bitch is dead"

Stopping in his tracks he glared at the shadow defiantly before yelling "You're lying!"

"Am I? Hmm... I could show you... would you like to see it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Natsu glared intently into the shadow's red eyes determined to find any lead that could send him in Lucy's direction. Normally he could determine his counterpart's feelings and intentions if he exchanged fists with them but that wasn't necessary with the shadow thing. It was clear as day from the way the eyes shone that the person or thing in front of him was utterly insane.

"Answer me, or I..." for some reason Natsu froze. He tried continuing his sentence but his tongue wouldn't move. Neither would the rest of his body. All of his body felt numb as if it was sedated with something.

Slowly something cold and unpleasant started crawling up his leg inch by inch. He wanted to look down to see what it was but he couldn't. Instead he kept staring into the shadow's glistening eyes.

Natsu could feel his pulse starting to race faster while a weird panicking feeling started consuming him. He wasn't the sort of person that would usually panic but there was something about the thing that slowly consumed him that felt horribly wrong. It almost felt like death clawing it's long, sickly nails inside of his soul one tiny piece at a time. He wanted to roar in frustration and anger but for some reason he couldn't.

The unpleasant thing that was consuming him was slowly reaching his face and as it did the panicking feeling started to escalate making him hive for air. His pulse was thundering through his body making a drumming sound to thunder in an even, but uncomfortable way inside of his skull. As if the thing consuming him could feel his panic, it seemed to lower it's pace as it slowly inched as some sort of liquid across his cheek until it reached his eyes.

Suddenly everything surrounding Natsu vanished. Everything was covered in black but fortunately the creepy feeling vanished, and suddenly he found himself able to move again. Not that there was anything he could do because everything surrounding him was black emptiness. Furious he tried igniting his hands to get a good look at his surroundings but nothing happened. For some reason he couldn't use his magic.

All of a sudden he felt a cold breath against his neck followed by a hissing voice whispering

"I'll show you and then you'll play with me... forever!"

Growling he turned around to stare at the shadow but it wasn't there. Instead an overwhelming wind suddenly spawned hitting him head-on making him stumble for a second. The wind started to escalate in power making Natsu raise his arms in front of him, trying to protect himself from the wind.

_What was that?_

Narrowing his eyes he looked between his arms. There was a tiny light in the distance. It was small but for some reason it felt. _Warm?_ Actually for a second he thought he recognised the light as something good and pleasant but he didn't have a rational explanation for that.

The light seemed to intensify in strength until it reached Natsu's body, bathing him in a warm engulfing light. Even if the light was a pleasant thing to replace the suffocating darkness it was so intense and bright that he had to close his eyes. Almost immediately after closing them the light vanished. As it did he heard footsteps followed by a familiar voice calling for him.

Startled he lowered his arms and stared in front of him with eyes wide open.

"Lucy?"

* * *

**A/N: **Dun-dun-duuuu! Anyone else thought about zombies when reading about the hand? I hate zombies... zombies are scary...

So... If you felt the urge to hug Natsu so far, let me just tell you "you ain't seen nothing yet". Especially when you read the next chapter... I'm so evil but I love it... but you'll see why when I publish it.

Anyhow, this is Hejmdal sneaking away while chuckling underneath her black cloak...


	4. Insufferable Pain

**A/N:** The time has come... Ugh, this chapter is so good and yet... well you'll know when you've read it. Bwahaha! So yeah this is a rather twisted, evil and somewhat cruel chapter, so I should warn you that there will be some aspects that might upset you. You could be affected emotionally or because it contains a vast amount of blood and violence. So consider yourself warned!

*makes a lot of Natsu clones and throws them randomly towards her readers, so they have someone to hug when reading this chapter*

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

**Chapter 4: Insufferable Pain**

"Lucy?"

Natsu yelled as he stared the blonde girl in front of him. Her back was turned against him but it didn't take many seconds for the dragon slayer to recognise his precious friend. Her smell, her physic, every little thing that made Lucy the person she was, was standing only a few feet away. She was so close to him that he couldn't help from feeling slightly relieved.

"Lucy!" he called out again but nothing seemed to happen. _Was she ignoring him?_

"Lu... what the..." he questioned as he tried moving his arm to grab her shoulder but nothing happened. His body was paralysed preventing him from moving anything from his shoulders and down. It wasn't as if he couldn't feel his body though. _No, he could feel that his body was covered with something unpleasant._ In some aspects it felt like the unknown substance that had taken hold of him not long ago, that had a weird, cold and somehow lethal feeling to it. For some reason it didn't feel like it was trying to consume him, nor was it suffocating. In some ways it felt like a very cold blanket was being wrapped around his body making his muscles numb and tingling with a tiny layer of cold sweat.

A gust of wind suddenly spawned behind him coming in steady breathing like rhythms against his neck.

"Shh... watch... I told you I'd show you right? Now be a good boy and watch the show..." a hissing voice said behind him. A second later the wind behind him vanished making the anger in Natsu's stomach boil as he tried turning his neck to catch a glimpse of the person who said this. But unfortunately the thing was gone before he got a chance to confront it.

"Damn it..." he growled before turning his attention back to Lucy. She was standing still and even if he couldn't be sure about it, it looked as though she was staring in front of her at... nothing? _Wait... where was this anyway? _Narrowing his eyes he made a quick scan of their surroundings. It looked a lot like the same cave he had been running through. But he didn't recognise this place so it had to be somewhere within the cave he hadn't been yet.

"Lucy!" He tried once more and for a split-second he thought it might have worked as he saw her turn around looking right at him with frightened and confused eyes. She kept staring at him for a few seconds when it hit him. _Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. _The cave was isolated from the sun and any other light source so she would need something or someone to guide her through the darkness in the cave. Without that she would practically be blind and have slim chances to find the right path without falling down one of the treacherous cliff's within the cave. Why didn't she call for her spirits? He started scanning for her keys but he couldn't spot them anywhere.

_Did they take her keys?_ But even if they did it didn't explain why Loki wasn't there because he could spawn on his own when he felt his master in distress. Was there some sort of weird force field surrounding the cave or perhaps some other magic that could prevent Loki from coming to her aid? Now that he thought about it, it was also quite strange that his visibility was so good, when he knew Lucy couldn't see anything. Was it because of his abilities as a dragon slayer or was it because his eyes had gotten used to the darkness? Or did the shadow creature have anything to do with it?

Natsu soon forgot his trail of thoughts as he saw Lucy lean against the cave wall with her back. She stood there for a few seconds taking a few deep breaths before she started screaming "Natsuuuuuuuu!"

The sound of her voice combined with the underlying fear he sensed made his heart clench in pain as he kept staring at her with a frustrated look.

"Lucy..." Natsu whispered while watching as she brought her trembling hands up in front of her as if she wanted to stare at the cuts and bruises that was on them. Her wounds was obviously a result of her stumbling in the darkness and it somehow ignited his anger.

"Tsch! Lucyyy!" he tried yelling even if he knew it was a lost effort. But he had to do something... anything.

"... what am I doing...?" her voice was barely above a whisper as she kept staring in the direction her hands was "... I can't keep relying on everyone else... I... I have to do something... what would Natsu do if he was in the same situation... hmm... he would be determined to find his friends even if he had to destroy every inch of this cave... well..."

Lucy slowly turned her head in his direction while smiling gently "I guess I'll have to destroy this cave in a very reckless way then"

His heart skipped a beat as a warm pleasant feeling started spreading in his chest. There was something soothing about her determination even if she was terrified underneath that little smile. He knew she wouldn't give up without a fight and that was reassuring because it spiked his own determination to get the hell out of there.

The urge to grab was so intense that he tried once again fighting against the thing that was restricting his movements but no matter how much he struggled against the paralysing feeling it didn't budge an inch.

"Damn it... Lucy I swear I'll... just wait for me I'll..."

A shrilling and childish laugh suddenly started echoing throughout the cave. The sound made Natsu flinch as he turned his head trying to pinpoint the thing's location. As he did he noticed Lucy turning her head again to once again stare in the direction her hands were, which she was now clenching tightly in what he presumed was determination.

_What was that?_ It was just for a second but he was almost certain that he saw something moving right behind Lucy. Of course he couldn't be sure but still. Narrowing his eyes he looked more thoroughly at the shadows behind her. Meanwhile the laughter seemed to intensify in volume making it echo in strange and loud waves throughout the cave. Slowly the laughter started to lower in volume until it was nothing more than a wicked chuckle. Luckily this meant the voice was easier to pinpoint because it came from one source. Unfortunately that place was right behind Lucy.

Natsu could feel the dread and horror spread like a wildfire through his veins as he watched a black shadow-like hand materialised right behind her, stretching it's dark finger's as if it was trying to grasp the air. The hand was right beside Lucy's head but for some reason it didn't look like she had sensed it appearing.

Panic and frustration made it's way into his system as he started screaming for Lucy's attention. But his efforts were futile and he knew it. None the less he couldn't prevent himself from screaming trying to get Lucy to run away from what he knew could become a very lethal situation.

"Behind you! Lucy! Get out of there!" he roared as an entire black arm became visible right next to Lucy's head. The hand started opening and closing in an uneven rhythm before it eventually stopped it's movement. As it did it started wiggling and twisting it's finger's teasingly while occasionally pointing towards Lucy's neck. Natsu dreaded what the thing was implying especially because he couldn't prevent the black silhouette thing from taking action if it wanted to.

"You! Get the fuck away from her!"

The arm stopped moving for a few seconds as if it was considering taking Natsu's advice and as it did silence filled the cave. The only sound Natsu could hear was his own heartbeat and it was almost deafening because it seemed to escalate inside of his skull, drowning all other sounds that might have been there.

Quicker than anything Natsu had ever seen before the dark hand grabbed Lucy's neck holding it in a very tight grip. The sight made him roar in anger and frustration, while he tried once again struggling against the unknown force that was restraining him. His blood was boiling filling him with rage that flowed like a wild fire through his body. As it did he glared with murderous intentions towards the hand.

It was a sight that would frighten an ordinary or sane person. Unfortunately the thing wasn't normal, no it was quite insane so instead of letting go of Lucy, that was starting to pant heavily, it strengthened it's hold around her neck, digging long fingers inside the soft flesh there making small drops of blood to flow from the now punctuated skin. The scream of agony and rage that came from the dragon slayer was heartbreaking but the shadow creature didn't seem to care. It kept it's firm hold against the girl's neck as the life in her eyes seemed to slowly faint away.

The anger that had consumed Natsu seemed to evaporate for a second, replacing the feeling with panic and sorrow because he could see by the look on Lucy's now very pale face, that she might die from suffocation any second.

"Stop it! Please!" he pleaded in a broken voice.

Red glistening eyes suddenly appeared in the shadows staring at Natsu in defiance "Oh, you want me to stop?"

"Yes, please... just... I..."

A sinister smirk that revealed a lethal set of canines appeared underneath the eyes, that was now shining with amusement "Okay I'll stop..." the shadow said while chuckling in a viscous tone.

Natsu could feel his heart violently skip a beat in his chest as he watching the hand loosening its grip, making Lucy hive desperately for air.

Time seemed to freeze as something suddenly sparked in the creature's eyes. Natsu knew that look all too well... _no stop, anything but this, please_... Widening his eyes he watched in horror as the shadow materialised it's other hand... _please stop_... the hand was clenched into a tight fist behind Lucy and in a flash it moved... _no, not this... don't want to loose someone precious... not again_... punching straight through Lucy's chest making blood spatter violently in every direction.

Natsu couldn't breathe, he couldn't focus. _Did his heart stop?_ So many feelings was rushing through his body and yet he felt nothing as he watched the black hand that had punched through Lucy's chest.

The creature was laughing menacingly but Natsu didn't register anything. He was too traumatised and conflicted that he didn't register anything but the horrible sight in front of him. Because of that he didn't see the silhouette materialising right behind Lucy revealing what was hidden underneath the shadows.

Tears started streaming down Natsu's face but he didn't register that either. It wasn't until he saw the hand vanishing from the gigantic wound that he snapped his head in the direction of the culprit. In any other situation the sight might have surprised him but right now he didn't care. Anyone who laid a finger on someone who was precious to him deserved to die a horrible and violent death.

The person in front of him was holding Lucy with both arms so her body was resting almost casually against his chest. It was a cruel sight especially because the person behind her looked like Natsu in so many aspects. His height, physique... a lot of things was so similar that they might have been twins. One of the obvious differences however was the colours. His counterpart had green hair, red eyes and his skin was a weird combination of grey and white. Apart from that the villain had a lot of visible scars and wounds covering his body. The weirdest part though was that the flesh was missing in some places exposing bones and red glistening muscles.

Something finally snapped inside of Natsu as he watched his so called counterpart smirk deviously before licking Lucy's neck with a long pink tongue.

"Get the fuck away from her!" he yelled while trying once again to fight the substance that confined his body.

The person snapped his head backwards and started howling in what almost sounded like a laugh. A second later the red eyes was staring towards Natsu again.

"Mm, and whyyyy would I listen to you? Mm? Oh stop screaming already you're giving me a headache! Tsch! Fine! I'll leave you kids alone to have fun... I think she still has a pulse.. oh yes she does! Oh, will you stop looking at me like I just destroyed your favourite toy. Is she your favourite toy? Kinky... Mehh, but where's the gratitude? Here I am offering some time to you with this lovely lady and all you do is cry about it. What was that? Ohh yeah right I practically killed her didn't I? That's mere details! You are just like a spoiled child! See you later... Natsu Dragneel"

Natsu could feel the magic that was restraining his body slowly starting to evaporate simultaneously with his counterpart vanishing into the shadows once again. The person was still holding onto Lucy but suddenly it removed it's arms making Lucy fall towards the ground.

"Lucy!"

The restraints finally vanished entirely making Natsu leap from his position to catch Lucy's falling figure. With both arms wrapped around her body he managed to prevent her from colliding with the floor. _But that was all he could prevent..._

Not knowing what to do next he gave the blonde girl a soft hug before laying her gently on the ground. Once there he quickly felt for her pulse. It was there as his counterpart had said it was. But it was so weak and slow, that it was hard for him to even find it. _Fuck, fuck, fuck_...! The blood was rapidly flowing from her wound and he knew it was only a matter of minutes or even seconds before Lucy would... _no... god no_...

"Lucy?" he whispered in a hoarse voice as he placed his forehead against hers.

"Lucy?" he tried again, this time stroking her cheek gently with a thumb.

Being this close to Lucy he could smell how her scent was being mixed with the horrible metallic stench that reeked from the amount of blood that was splattered on the ground, on her and on him. It was horrible and for every breath he inhaled he could feel a tiny part of him shattering.

"Lucy..." his voice cracked in pain with tears flowing freely, running down his cheeks and eventually landing on Lucy's face, as if they wanted to remove the blood that stained her face.

"...Nat... su...?"

Her voice was so fragile and faint but he heard it. The sound made him freeze for a second, causing a lump of air to form in his throat.

"... Natsu...?"

"Yeah I'm here" he exhaled a shaking breath "It'll all be fine now"

"... I know... I... believe..."

"Shh, save your energy Lucy"

"... you always save me... from the beginning... remember...?"

"Yes, I do... on the boat..."

"... yes... always..."

"Lucy please don't..."

He grimaced in pain as he gently placed his hands on her cheeks. It might have been a selfish act but he didn't care as he brought his lips against hers kissing her very gently. The pain in his chest seemed to escalate as he kissed her and eventually it was too much for him so he had to stop his actions as his body started to tremble from all of the emotions that threatened to suffocate him.

Natsu was shaking as he inhaled a few times before resting his head against hers once again, looking directly into her huge brown eyes. It didn't look like she resented him for kissing him. _No, it almost looked like there was something... happy... glistening in them..._

"... Natsu I... I..."

She was smiling gently towards him as a single tear suddenly spawned from her eye, rolling down her face.

"I... "

Everything seemed to freeze as he watched the light suddenly vanished from her eyes. _This was just cruel... evil... horrifying... _there was no words that could describe the painful feeling that clawed inside of his chest making it hard for him to even breathe as he used one of his hand to close her eyelids.

_...In the end he couldn't save her..._

Clenching his teeth he gave into the overwhelming sadness and anger that was tearing him apart. The pain in his stomach was so excruciating that it felt like someone had taken all of his intestines and crushed them.

… _why... why... why... did they all leave him in the end... why..._

Shaking he wrapped his arms around Lucy hugging her body tightly against him as if it could somehow soothe the feelings raging inside of him.

… _the pain of solitude... fear... pain... not good enough..._

He was panting trying desperately to breathe normally and avoid hyperventilating. But it was futile as he felt another stab of pain clench through him making his heart beat irregularly.

… _Lucy..._

She was the last rational thought that rushed through Natsu's mind, before started screaming in agony as his world somehow seemed to shatter into a million pieces.

**A/N:** I told you I'm sorry right? *hides underneath her table* I must admit I kinda broke my own heart writing this...

Prepare to enter "the explaining corner" with yours truly and Natsu. Aye sir!

H: "Sniff, sniff! Sorry Natsu!"

Natsu: "Shut up... you know I thought you were a nice person.."

H: "I am!"

Natsu: "Not towards me! Anyhow would you mind explaining my reaction in this chapter?"

H: "Sure thing. Ohh spoiler alert for those who aren't up to date with the anime Fairy Tail (2014) and the current arc they are animating. I am not referring to the manga (all though I must admit I love the development there).

SO SPOILER ALERT HAVE BEEN INVOKED!

Natsu: "Anyhow in the episode where future Lucy dies I don't display such horror or pain you make me go through in this chapter. Of course I was angry and hurt, but it comes no where near the level you typed"

H: "Well not to say anything bad about a future Lucy but since she was a fragment from another time she would eventually vanish anyway. Besides in this chapter Natsu truly believe that this is the one and only Lucy and that she was brutally killed right in front of him. In the anime/manga he still has the current Lucy and that might soothe him knowing. In addition to that I think the surroundings and the circumstances of her death in this chapter (being very sudden and violent) would break any sane person just a tiny bit. I know some consider Natsu being almighty and stuff but I don't want to place him on a pedestal pretending he can conquer everything. He is a human being with real emotions like the rest of us and as I said earlier even the strongest characters can crumble if you add enough pressure on them"

Natsu: "Fine... well if anyone has any questions feel free to ask the crazy author. I'm going home..."

H: "Until next time! Have a nice day – and uhm... please don't kill me, mkay?"


	5. Whispering Madness

**A/N: **Bwahaha! I just looooove listening to the evil sadistic aspects of my personality as this story progresses. I hope you like it too and didn't think the last chapter was too devious. I guess I can say without spoiling too much, that there will be some good and happy stuff in this chapter.

With that said: welcome to chapter 5 ladies and gentlemen!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Whispering Madness**

Natsu opened his eyes and stared into the darkness surrounding him. He couldn't recall falling asleep. As a matter of fact he didn't know for how long he had screamed and roared in frustration. His throat was sore though so he must have been at it for a while before he eventually was so exhausted he passed out.

_Not that it mattered... Nothing did..._ Lucy was dead and that painful memory would haunt him for the rest of his life, just like the painful guilt would... _couldn't save her_...

For some reason his entire body felt numb and almost buzzing with an unknown feeling making his body tremble like it was covered in a cold but invisible sweat. In a way it felt as if he wasn't in his own body. It felt like he was just a copy of his former self, laying helpless in the darkness. Like a piece of meat that had been clawed, chewed and eventually torn apart until there was nothing left but the glistening bones... _why_...

A sharp pain in his stomach made him wrap his arms around his waist as if he was trying to soothe himself. But it didn't help, in fact it felt like the pain was somehow spreading towards his lungs making it harder to breathe. As a result he was finding it difficult getting enough air to enter his body no matter how many times he inhaled. He was starting to hyperventilate and he knew he should prevent it by calming himself but he didn't really care. _It was all his fault... If only... Wait..._ he took a deep breath as he recalled the silhouette's voice. There was something vital missing but he was so confused by his emotions that he couldn't think straight.

Slowly he took a few deep breathes while trying to get a hold of his emotions. _Her scent... the blood_. As he calmed down he started focusing on the smells surrounding him. He could smell the iron in the air implying there was blood near him. But it wasn't an overwhelming smell and he knew that with the amount Lucy had lost, it would stink in such a foul way, that he should be tasting it every time he inhaled. _Why couldn't he smell it? And why couldn't he smell her?_ Now that he thought about it more rationally the entire cave was covered in darkness making it hard to see anything. When he met Lucy he could see everything all too well, now it was hard even seeing the ground underneath him.

Something was definitely wrong with the situation and he had to know what it was. So with that in mind he extended one of his arms away from his body. For a split second he dreaded what he might find but somehow he succeeded in pushing the feeling aside as he ignited his hand.

Natsu's eyes widened as he stared at his surroundings. _She wasn't there._ His heart started beating faster as he in a swift move got up into a crouched position where he ignited the other hand as well. _She wasn't there._ The thought made him turn around feverishly trying to find something, anything that could give a hint or a clue to what had happened.

"Where are you..." he whispered while turning "... Lucy"

Natsu could feel a faint glimmer of hope spreading in his chest. _If she wasn't there could she be somewhere else?_ He scanned his body and noticed that the only blood on him was from the wounds on his wrists that had somehow reopened. Her blood should be covering him as it had after the assault. _Could it be... was it possible that she wasn't dead?_

Gritting his teeth he thought about the moment the silhouette first materialised in front of him revealing a hand that was decaying. At that time it told him that Lucy was already dead. Or well it said that the bitch was dead. How could it say that, if it was going to kill her moments later? Had it already happened or was it perhaps something he had imagined because of some hallucination? And if so was it something the silhouette person had created?

Grunting he extinguished the fire in one of his hand before pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't know very much about the silhouette. The only thing he knew was it used some weird kind of magic he hadn't seen before. Besides if Lucy was dead then that would potentially mean that the creature could travel in time. Which didn't make sense because he knew first hand how difficult time travelling magic was. A single person or creature shouldn't have that kind of power. Of course he knew there was exceptions because there were powerful mages such as Zeref. _But still_... It could be a mistake that the creature used past tense. But then again who knew? The thing was utterly insane. So... could it be some sort of hallucination that tricked him? That just seemed impossible because no one and nothing could usually trick his keen instinct and senses.

Growling he got into a standing position as the pain of his sorrow seemed to evaporate replacing it with an overwhelming anger. Not knowing for sure what had happened was infuriating him on a level he hadn't experienced before. Natsu felt so restless he could feel his muscles aching with adrenaline from the need to either get moving or punch someone senseless. So since there wasn't anyone nearby he could punch he started walking through the cave with ignited hands that flowed in violent waves behind him, illuminating the caves with a crimson colour. It was almost as if the fury within him was being materialised into the flames that was escalating from his fists, burning and melting everything it touched to smithereens.

* * *

Hours went by with the restless dragon slayer roaming the cave as he searched for Lucy. But no matter where Natsu went there wasn't any clues to Lucy's whereabouts. Nor was there any significant evidence that could determine whether or not she might have been killed.

He felt so restless and angry that he wanted nothing more than to exterminate the whole cave and everything in it. Of course he couldn't do that but that didn't lessen the feelings boiling up inside of him.

As he searched through the tunnels in the cave he was surprised when he heard something throbbing in an even rhythm. The sound made him freeze because it was the first sound he had heard coming from within the cave that possibly wasn't from the silhouette thing. The sound was something he recognised though so was the smell coming from it. For a second he was slightly confused but then realisation hit him. A smirk appeared on his lips as he walked in the sounds direction. It didn't take him long before he reached the source of the sound and when he did he could hear his stomach rumbling.

"Water..." he whispered as he stared at the small treasure in front of him. There was a crack in the cave wall where a very small amount of water was flowing. The water was slowly running across several rocks until it gathered in a small dent. When there was enough water in the dent it would fall to the ground where it would make a splashing sound which was the noise Natsu had heard a moment ago.

Turning he noticed that there was some weird looking mushrooms growing next to the water, which potentially could provide some very much needed nutrition. Especially because it seemed like ages ago since he had emptied his stomach for whatever content was originally in it. However he knew he should be cautious because the mushrooms might be poisonous. Well even if they looked kind of purple and not edible it didn't have to be that way. _Right?_

Shrugging he extinguished the flame in one of his hands before picking one of the mushrooms bringing it up to his nose. It didn't really have any distinctive smell other than the lingering smell of earth which might come from the ground. _So far so good_, shrugging he took a small bite of the mushroom. _The taste was..._ well it tasted like all the other mushrooms Lucy sometimes forced him to eat.

The thought of Lucy made him flinch momentarily before he picked up a handful of mushrooms he quickly consumed. Once that task was done he gathered his hand to form a small cup he used to gather water. The water felt cold and refreshing as it ran down his throat and further down to his stomach. As he took his time to get some more water into his system he could feel how his body seemed to rejuvenate, filling all of his energy depots with new found power. When Natsu felt he had satisfied his body's needs he sighed heavily before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

The energy that was rushing through his body had a positive effect on his mood as he somehow seemed to feel more rational about the whole situation. The rational feeling soon vanished though as he felt a sharp pain coming from his head. The pain made him grit his teeth as it seemed to intensify. Fortunately it didn't take many seconds before the pain reached it's climax and eventually started to evaporate. When the feeling was gone he took a deep breath before staring at the water in front of him. He knew he should probably do something about the wounds on his wrists because it wouldn't do anything good to him if the wounds became infected.

Sighing heavily he started removing the cloth that was wrapped around his wrists, while balancing the small flame in his hand so he had light to see the damage. The material he removed was covered with dry blood from the wound reopening from time to time. Once the cloth was gone he stared at the cuts he had received from the handcuffs. They weren't that bad looking and it was apparent that it was healing at a rapid pace. However the skin surrounding the wounds was looking rather red so it was obvious that he had to clean it as well as getting some fresh bandages. So with that in mind he started rubbing his wrists gently with water, removing the dried blood. Once it was gone the wound started bleeding again but fortunately it wasn't an ominous amount.

Sighing again he grabbed his pants and tore two long pieces off which he placed in his lap while he took a minute to remove the new blood that was now running down his arm. Once that task was done he wrapped the cloth around his wrists making sure it was sufficient to prevent the wound from bleeding too much. With that done, he opened and closed his hands a few times making sure the bandages wasn't too tight preventing blood to flow to his fingers. Satisfied he got into a standing position where he stood a minute before he ignited both hands before continuing his search.

Natsu was walking through the cave when a faint voice startled him. Instantly he thought it was the creature that wanted "to have more fun with him" so he couldn't prevent a snarl from escaping his mouth as he glared viscously around him. But there wasn't anything to see which annoyed him even more. However he did have a faint idea in which direction he had heard the voice so he started stomping in that direction determined to kill or at least beat the crap out of the stupid creature that lurked in the shadows. As he kept walking he heard the voice again. It was very faint and sounded almost like an echo of a voice. But still there was something about it that made him pause, because even though the sound was faint and barely recognisable there was something familiar about it.

His heart started pounding heavily in his chest as he pursued the direction he heard the sound.

It didn't take many minutes before he heard the voice again and this time he could feel his heart skip a beat making him widen his eyes. It felt like all of the oxygen in his lunges had been punched out of him all of a sudden, making him stop in his tracks.

_It couldn't be... oh dear god please_... Natsu could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body making him sprint recklessly through the cave. A lot of emotions was escalating inside of him as he kept running. Anger, insignificance, worry, fright, hope... He tried ignoring it but it was almost unavoidable as he heard the voice again and this time he did recognise it for certain. _But it couldn't be...? Could it?_ It felt like something clutched his entrails in a uncomfortable way as he followed the voice that was luring him and telling him which direction to go.

As he kept running he noticed how the voice seemed to rise and fall in an even rhythm. _It almost sounded like... a song?_ Listening to the sound rising in volume as he got closer to his target Natsu grew more convinced that it was some sort of melody. And it wasn't a regular song. No, it was _her song_. It was a unique melody she sometimes hummed or sung when she thought she was alone. He wasn't sure what to make of that though. In some aspects he dreaded what was ahead of him. But on the other hand he was feeling kind of nostalgic and anticipated. It was contradicting feelings and it was spreading through his body like a wildfire, mixing with the aching feeling in his muscles that was preparing to fight whatever was ahead of him.

All of a sudden he noticed light coming from a rather large opening in one of the cave walls. The voice was definitely coming from the lights location and he could feel his heart pounding furiously as if it wanted to force it's way out through his ribcage.

Natsu stopped running once he got to the opening, panting slightly as he took a moment to look at the view in front of him. There was a rather wide area which was illuminated with numerous torches. Besides the usual rocks that was characteristic for the cave, there was a small pond in the middle. _But how?_ He asked himself as he stared with wide eyes at the scenario in front of him. _How?_ He wondered again as he stared at a blonde girl who was taking a bath in the middle of the pond. The girl had her back turned towards him and was singing as she scrubbed her arms with water trying to remove whatever dirt was on them.

Natsu wanted to yell, he wanted to cry, he wanted to run up to her, but for some reason he couldn't move. His own feelings was paralysing his own body making him indecisive for one of the first times in his life. He could feel how his heart and pulse was pounding like a war drum inside of his body making a unpleasant beat that almost followed her singing in a rather sadistic way. As he stood there in shock he watched as the girl turned around revealing her face that once and for all clarified her identity.

"Eeeeeeeek!" the girl yelped before plopping down into the water until her head was the only part that was revealed.

"Lu...?"

"No! Don't come over here! Pervert!" she said while lashing one of her arms up and down.

"What...?" he said in a low voice while staring at her dumbfounded.

"You heard me Natsu! Don't get over here!"

"Why? Are you afraid that I might reveal your identity or something?" he snarled while staring at her through narrowed eyes.

"My identity?" her eyes widening in what looked like confusion "I don't know what you're talking a..."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" he roared as he raised one of his ignited hands and pointed an accusing finger towards her "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't walk right over there and beat you to a pathetic pulp! Huh?"

The girl seemed somewhat confused at first but then anger seemed to replace that feeling as she glared daggers towards the dragon slayer.

"You... you... IDIOT! You know who I am! I'm Lucy Heartfilia and the only reason I don't want you near me is because I'm naked!"

"Like hell I'm going to... what...?" he blinked before staring at her in disbelief, watching as her face started to blush more and more fiercely.

"... I'm... naked... and well..."

Her voice was so gentle and fragile that Natsu felt a rush of guilt rushing over him, as he stared at her now shivering body.

"I... I... " he gabbed like a fish on dry water.

"It's fine Natsu. To be honest I don't blame you for not trusting me. I mean... I've seen what that... creature... can do so I know how confusing this is. I mean, I know I am, and I know I should doubt your identity as well but somehow I just feel it's you. It's like... well it's like my heart is able to recognise you when everything else is filled with doubt"

She was smiling warmly towards him making him feel even worse about himself. He wanted so desperately to believe her. He truly did. But there was still this lingering suspicion in his mind causing him to doubt what was right in front of him. Heck, if this was a normal situation he would probably know for sure that this was Lucy. Her scent, her behaviour everything practically screamed the confirmation of her identity. _So why_... why couldn't he just believe in her like she believed in him? Had his short stay in the cave made him such an indecisive person?

Taking in a deep breath he extinguished the fire in his hands before rubbing his forehead. As he did this he lowered his head a bit while he stared at the ground underneath him.

"Look I'm sorry. To be honest this just feels too convenient for me to just stumble upon you right this. No not because you're naked, you know I don't care about that" he wasn't looking at her so he didn't see her offended look but kept talking "I just... well... it's just hard for me to believe the creature in this cave would permit me to just find you like this. Call me paranoid if you want it's just... well... it's hard knowing what's real and what isn't. I want to believe that its you, I do. Especially because I... want to believe you're alive" his voice broke as he uttered the last sentence.

"Natsu I... I don't don't know how to convince you that it's me. But I know that somehow you'll reach that realisation yourself. I have faith in that"

The sentence made him snap his head up to stare at the girl who was smiling encouraging towards him. _How could she have so much faith in him? Why when he was doubting everything so much?_

"I'm..."

"No!" She cut him off "Don't say it again! It's okay. As I said I don't blame you" she had a determined look in her eyes as she said this. The look did nothing to ease the blame that was rummaging through his body.

Sighing he stopped rubbing his forehead and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Thanks. I... hey you're shaking"

"Oh, yes well the water in here isn't exactly heated you know... so..."

"Oh"

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lucy's cheeks started blushing a dark shade of red.

"I'm not getting out of here while you're staring at me Natsu!"

"Huh? Well I don't care about..."

"I care! Now turn around before I make a naked Lucy kick on you!"

He could feel his own cheeks blushing slightly but he did as she said and turned his back against her. His action could be considered a sign of trust but his senses was on high alert all the time if something suddenly happened. It only took a few minutes for her to put her clothes on but for Natsu it felt like an eternity passed by.

"You can turn around now" he heard her say before turning around to stare at her now fully dressed.

He wasn't sure how he felt at the moment. Truly he wanted to feel at ease. _But still..._

"Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"I know it must have seemed weird that I was taking a bath in this place. I mean it must seem suspicious somehow, right? To be honest I wanted to keep searching for you but when I found this place I couldn't resist taking a bath for some reason... so... if you don't believe it's me because of that it's okay... I guess... it is kind of weird taking a bath now that I think about it myself, hehe"

Natsu watched as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck while a slight blush started spreading cross her cheeks.

"Natsu I... I'm just so happy that you're okay. It... was hard being alone down here not knowing what had happened to you or if you were even alive. I mean... who knows what could have happened to you? Don't take this the wrong way! I have faith in you and of course I know you can accomplish anything because if you're determined about something you always pull through. But still... it's kind of embarrassing saying this but... I... I... was so scared... it was so dark and I couldn't see anything..."

He felt horrible as he watched a few lonely tears running down her cheeks.

"I..." Natsu tried but stopped as started shaking her head.

"It's okay... I guess I'm just weak at the moment or something"

"You know it's okay to feel scared sometimes. It's only natural feeling that way especially if you're concerned about people who are important to you. I was scared too running through this cave not knowing what had happened to you. But as I said I think that's natural and no I don't think it's a sign of weakness. Actually I think it's a sign of strength that you can have those feelings. So you're not weak, in fact because of your gentle nature and your ability to admit you're own flaws you're stronger than a lot of people. Even me..."

He watched her smile warmly towards him making him blush slightly.

"Thanks Natsu... I... I know this might be too much to ask... because of the situation and all. But would it be okay if I hugged you?"

"Uhm..." he was so surprised by her request that he didn't know how to react. So he just stared at her with wide eyes.

"... you know it's okay if you say no..."

She looked so embarrassed and fragile as she stared at him with huge glistening eyes, making him feel horrible and conflicted. _But then again what harm could a hug do?_

"Uhm... I guess that's okay...?"

Lucy was smiling brightly towards him before she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head gently against his chest.

"Thanks Natsu..."

"Uhm, it's nothing... really..."

His hands were hanging awkwardly to his sides because he wasn't sure if he wanted to hug her back. In some aspects he wanted nothing more than return her gesture. _On the other hand... on the other what? What was the worst that could happen?_

Sighing he placed his arms around her small figure. It felt rather nice and he could feel how his own emotions somehow seemed to calm down. Her scent, her presence, everything was like a soothing blanket that made a warm comfortable feeling spread through his body. He wanted her to be there. He wanted her to be safe... no, he needed her to be safe. She was a very important person to him and in so many ways she was his saviour. Natsu knew this but he never showed what he felt towards her. Of course he showed his gratitude from time to time but he never really owned up to it directly. Well he wasn't sure how he should do that other than giving her something nice or telling her how important she was to him. Or maybe he did know how to show it? Didn't he kiss her when he thought she was dying? Did that count as something or was it insignificance because of the situation? He didn't know for sure but he knew that only time would tell what his own emotions was trying to tell him. For now it didn't matter. Now was all about the presence and the girl in his arms.

"Thanks Natsu... for everything... for trusting me..."

"Mmm..."

"Natsu... I really mean it. Thank you... for everything. I know I should feel sorry..."

"Hm? No, you shouldn't feel sorry"

"Yeah... you're probably right... I shouldn't..."

He could feel her twisting slightly in his arms, which made him furrow his eyebrows in confusion. The confusion didn't lessen as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"... and I don't!"

"Wha...?"

Looking down he stared in disbelief at Lucy who was smirking deviously towards him.

"As I said..." she ducked out of his embrace before taking a step backwards "... I don't feel sorry"

The pain in his stomach seemed to intensify and instinctively he brought one of his hands to the area. As he did he looked down at his hand and to his surprise it was covered in blood.

"What.." Natsu whispered as he lifted his gaze to stare at Lucy.

"What, what?" she said teasingly "Oh, you mean this!" a giggle escaped her lips as she held out a dagger that was covered with blood and something else... _poison?_

"Why...?" he asked in a pained voice as the world seem to get more and more blurry.

"Mm... because I love you"

His heart felt like it was tearing apart as the world started to crumble before him. He knew this wasn't Lucy. It couldn't be. But still... to hear those words after being stabbed. _It hurt. It fucking hurt._ The pain from the wound seemed so insignificant compared to the suffering he felt in his soul. His heart was beating uncontrollably inside his ribcage making him clench a fists above his chest. As he did his breathing started becoming more irregular making him heave for air. He didn't know if his body reacted this way because of the poison or because of his emotions. Not that it mattered. _Nothing seemed to matter_, he thought as he gave a pained look towards the blonde, who was grinning viscously.

_This was beyond evil... first he watched her die and now..._ he felt the pain of being betrayed by one of his closest friends. Because even if he knew that this couldn't be Lucy, _it just couldn't_, it didn't prevent his heart from suffering by her actions.

_Why_, he thought one last time as a wave of darkness swept him away, leaving the dreadful situation as he fell unconscious.

* * *

**A/N: **Should have trusted your instincts there Natsu. That's all I'm saying... I'm not going to judge you for thinking "what harm can a hug do?". Nope! Hugs can definitely be lethal if used in the correct way... I guess. Nighty, night dragon slayer... hope you wake up in the next chapter!

Natsu: "You're evil!"

H: "Oh yes!"


	6. Aching Wounds

**A/N: **In this chapter there will be blood. Consider yourself warned :)

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, followed and put this story on favourite. You're amazing and awesome! I want to show my my gratitude towards all of you so yeah *with tears streaming down my face, I order Happy to fly to each one of you with a huge basket full of yummy and lovely fish*

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Aching Wounds**

_It hurts... it fucking hurts... why would you do this? Why?_

Lucy was right in front of him laughing hysterically as she pointed a sharp knife towards him that was covered in blood. _His blood..._

She was staring at him like she was some sort of primal animal that wanted nothing more than to rip his skin off and tear the flesh from his body. As he thought this a faint yellow colour seemed to appear in Lucy's eyes.

"Natsu..." his eyes narrowed at the appealing tone in her voice "... this isn't me... this... I'm so sorry"

Startled he watched as the girl started trembling with tears suddenly streaming down her cheeks.

"I... how..." she looked confused for a second, turning her head in every direction while panting heavily. Lucy stopped her actions for a second and started screaming as if she was in pain.

Confused Natsu kept staring, as the girl feel to her knees with hands frantically clawing into her skull.

"Please stop this... please..." she bowed in front of him for a few seconds gasping for air but quickly snapped her head back up to stare at him "... Natsu... forever alone..."

Natsu could feel the air getting caught in his throat as he watched the girl's watery tears, all of a sudden was replaced with blood that seemed to rapidly increase in speed and volume, as it streamed down her cheeks, covering her skin with a crimson layer.

"You'll... never... forever... ugh!" Lucy was snarling revealing teeth that slowly transformed into very sharp canines "... never, ever save anyone" she roared as her hands also seemed to change into sharp claws that made horrible wounds in her skull.

"... stop please..." Natsu begged in a pained voice as the girl's screams seemed to intensify. As it did scales started materialising on her skin which was soon covered with blood making them shine viscously.

".. please..." he tried again but it didn't have any affect as he watched the girl's entire body starting to transform into a different shape. As it did a gust of wind started blowing violently around Lucy making the scene in front of him blurry. Unfortunately for him he could still see how the the girl slowly turned into something else. Dread and horror filled him as he watched what appeared to be a dragon standing in front of him glaring back at him with big yellow eyes.

"Naaatsu..." a deep voice boomed "you disappoint me..."

"No..." Natsu whispered as he stared at the creature.

"Yes you do! You incompetent brat!" the voice snarled as it took a step forward revealing it's huge body.

"You can't be..."

"Stupid kid. Still so ignorant and pathetic. I should have left you to die when I found you..."

"Stop it! You're not Igneel!"

"Does it matter?" the dragon roared "This is what you feel inside your own heart! I'm just saying what you want me to say!"

"I'm not! I..."

"Silence! I started this failure so I must finish it"

Clenching his teeth Natsu glared in defiance as the dragon opened it's mouth blasting a huge amount of fire in his direction. The fire engulfed the dragon slayer quickly but for some reason it didn't hurt. _No, it was almost... pleasant? Soothing even. That didn't make sense..._

"You will vanish from this earth Natsu. And with it you will leave nothing behind. No one will miss you nor will they cry for your fate. Forever alone... that is your destiny"

The sentence felt like a stab in his heart. Even if this wasn't Igneel and even if he didn't truly believe him, his feelings was so shattered and conflicted he couldn't help but being affected by them.

_Why_... he thought as the flames kept licking against his body, consuming everything until it suddenly started overwhelming his mind colouring everything, even his thoughts in red and orange colours.

An agonizing pain suddenly appeared in his stomach and as it did everything around him seemed to vanish, leaving him with a pulsating pain that seemed to spread through his entire body.

"Shit" he cursed as everything started twisting and turning uncomfortably. The saliva in his mouth started spawning more rapidly implying he had to puke really soon.

All of a sudden something hard hit his face and as it did the world seemed to stabilize.

"Wakey, wakey..." a voice hissed close to his ear making him growl in anger before opening his eyes.

* * *

"You..." Natsu snarled through gritted teeth.

"Oh yes"

Confused, he narrowed his eyes while staring furiously at the blonde in front of him. _A dream... it must have been a dream... Igneel couldn't be there..._

He still felt nauseas which unfortunately seemed to take a further hold on him making him heave for air for a few seconds.

"Ohh poor baby. Aren't you feeling well?"

"Fuck... you!" he roared as his stomach seemed to twist uncomfortably making him lean his head forward so he wouldn't puke on himself. As he did he noticed that his movements were limited because he was restrained somehow against the cold cave wall.

Furious he opened his mouth as his stomach's contents landed on the ground with a disgusting splash.

"Eeeeew!" the girl squealed while dancing awkwardly.

"Shut the hell up!" Natsu snarled as he turned his head to look at the things restraining him "And get me out of these fucking chains!"

"No!"

Snorting, the dragon slayer started twisting in his chains but they were too tight to get out of. Instead his movements caused a sharp pain to run through his cuts and wounds. It particularly hurt his wrists because the chains surrounding his wounds was so tight it was digging into his flesh, making them reopen and bleed down his arms. To make matters worse he could feel his magic being restrained and he didn't have to look twice to know that the thing on his hands were preventing him from using his powers.

As he glared with murderous intentions towards the girl he also noticed that they were in the same place he had been when he lost his consciousness, by the small pond with torches surrounding it.

"Hmm, you know you look like an x with those chains? What is it they say? X marks the spot?" she chanted teasingly.

"Shut up"

"You're soooo cruel! Why are you such a meanie? Hmpf! You know I don't think it's smart for you to act all high and mighty in your position, hm?" she smirked before reaching out a finger, lazily poking the knife wound in Natsu's stomach, which caused him to flinch involuntary in pain "See? Hmm... I wonder how it tastes? Mmm... salty..."

"Tsch! You're fucking insane you know that, right?"

"Yup! But you know you should really pay attention to the current situation and stop being such a hot tempered idiot. I might be insane but I'm not the one bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. You are"

"And so what? Ugh, you know I'm done talking to you..."

"Is that so? I thought you wanted to know where Lucy is?"

"As if I would fall for such an obvious trick. Don't! Underestimate me!" he snarled.

"Mmm, perhaps not... well it doesn't matter. I think I'm more than enough to be your Lucy don't you?"

"What the fuck are you implying?"

"Don't you think I look exactly like her?"

"So what?"

"Ohh... Oohhh! You haven't considered that have you, mm? Don't you think it's weird I look so much like her that it hurts if I do this..." she chuckled before stabbing Natsu in his left arm "... can you honestly say this doesn't hurt?"

Groaning Natsu turned his head to glare menacingly at the girl "There's no way it would hurt when I know you're just some fucking imposter"

"Ohh..." the knife was slowly being dragged through his muscles tearing a larger wound in his arm "... I just wanted you to notice me... and perhaps I want you to feel some of the pain I feel when I'm aaaall alone in my apartment. I mean ever since daddy died I've been so lonely..."

"What...?" he growled while narrowing his eyes.

"... do you know how many nights I just lay there crying because I'm all alone..."

Natsu knew he shouldn't pay attention to the creature's deceptions but for some reason it still hurt hearing those words. Perhaps it was because he always dreaded if she might have these emotions somewhere deep inside of her. Heck, it would be surprising if she didn't, because he knew first hand how painful and alone a person could feel when they lose someone they care about. But for some reason Lucy never seemed to let it get to her. She was always cheerful and warm whenever he was around her. Sometimes he tried talking about it, or well hinting, but she would just shrug and say that everything was fine. But now that he thought about it, it was more likely a façade she kept because she didn't want to burden anyone. _Damn it! Wasn't he the exact same way when it came to his own emotions?_

He groaned in pain as the knife continued cutting through the muscles in his left arm.

"... I hate being alone..." the girl in front of him whispered in a pained voice, that made his heart clench uncomfortably

"... I hate it..." she continued and the pain inside his chest seemed to intensify. He tried taking a deep breath to calm his emotions but it didn't help. _Why did it hurt watching this imposter looking like a fragile version of Lucy? Why..._

"Please..." he said while looking at her through narrowed eyes "please, just stop..."

The girl turned to him and glared at him accusingly "... are you denying your guilt? Are you that selfish that you don't care about my feelings?"

"..."

"It's your fault! You never pay attention to anything other than yourself and your own happiness! That's why you didn't notice my tears. Heck, you probably didn't know how many nights I've been having nightmares about my father"

"Stop it..."

"If you're such a good friend why didn't you notice this? Why didn't you save me from myself?"

"STOP IT!"

"Ohhh" she said while crooking an eyebrow teasingly "Interesting... so you didn't know about her pain did you? Or her nightmares"

"You're lying..." it wasn't a very convincing statement but he didn't know what else to say. He knew it was highly plausible that Lucy was having nightmares because he suffered from terrible nightmares too after Igneel left him.

"Riiight..." she removed the knife from his arm and took a step backwards "... and someone should give you an award for acting so poorly that you couldn't even convince a 5 year old kid that was blind, deaf and stupid. You know what?"

"What?"

"You keep telling me I'm lying, that this Lucy girl isn't dead, blah blah blah... being mad and sulky about me being cruel. Well maybe I am cruel... but that's not the point! Haven't you even once considered that there must be some truth in what I'm saying?"

"No..."

"Tsch!" she spat in a very annoyed tone "Do I really have to explain everything to you? If I'm lying about everything why do I look like an exact copy of Lucy, hm? Do you really think I could copy her if I didn't know every inch of her body?"

"She's down here somewhere, right? You could have found her and copied her appearance based on that..."

"I could... yes... but do you really think she's in such a perfect condition down her as I am" smirking she grabbed her hips "there's not even a scratch on me!"

"So what?"

"Jeez you're thick!"

Natsu growled in anger as the girl took a step forwards while humming "I... don't think she's in minty condition in here... but she might have been... in that apartment of hers..."

Dread started to fill Natsu's body as he watched the girl raising her hand containing a knife "You're implying you've seen her and her apartment before she came to this cave" he said as a chill went down his spine.

"Exactly! One point or should I say mark for the pink haired kid" she laughed hysterically before slashing his left arm again.

"Ugh!" groaning he stared at her in defiance "Where is she?"

"Mmm... I don't know? Ohh yeah the bitch is dead"

"Stop fucking with me" he roared while struggling against the chains "I'm... ugh... getting out of here... and when I do... I'll... fucking... kill... you!"

Natsu kept fighting for a few minutes but it was a futile effort. Instead all it caused him was more pain from his wounds which started bleeding more violently.

He felt sick not only because of the pain but because of the things the creature implied. If it had been stalking Lucy for how long had it done so? And had it perhaps done something towards her he didn't know about? It was unpleasant not knowing for sure and he knew that it wouldn't give him any straight answers even if he asked it directly. Even so he felt violated on Lucy's behalf.

"You... Hurting me is one thing but if you've done anything thing to Lucy I swear..." he took a deep breath before roaring "I'll fucking rip you to pieces!"

The girl seemed baffled for a second but the expression was soon replaced with a mocking tone "Ohh sure you will... mm, I think you might want to kill me even more once you know what I've done to her... but let's leave that for later shall we? I want to have fun!"

A childish laugh escaped the blondes mouth as she jumped and in a matter of seconds was close enough to grab his cheek, forcing him to face her devious smirk "and it begins now!"

Natsu didn't see her raising her hand but he definitely felt the knife as it pierced through his flesh. It wasn't that painful for some reason, but it was uncomfortable feeling blood gathering in his stomach, making him heave for air before coughing violently, trying to remove the substance that was suddenly gathering there.

Once his breathing seemed to somewhat calm down, it started hurting like hell.

"Damn it" he cursed and felt how the blood that had gathered in his mound from coughing slipped past his lips, leaving crimson streaks on his chin.

"Red suits you" the blonde girl purred teasingly making him growl in anger and pain.

"Aww, and the itty bitty tiny dragon slayer growls in compliance. Now lets get this party started!"

Natsu knew that her definition of a party was totally different than his and unfortunately for him, he couldn't refuse the invitation that seemed to last for hours, making him scream in agony multiple times.

* * *

**A/N: **Bwahaha! So cruel I know. They call me the mistress of evil... or Natsu does and I guess he's right XD

You might think that Natsu is spilling too much blood, but keep in mind this story is based on anime/manga. In that universe the characters always seem to have an unlimited supply of blood (for some bizarre reason, but I love it).


	7. Dangerous Predictions

**A/N: **Yooo! And welcome to chapter 7! This is a short chapter but it is necessary for the plot line so I had to make it this way. I wanted it to be longer though, but I just couldn't make enough filler stuff to do that. So yeah I guess I should apologize for the short chapter but I promise the next one will be longer. Now that I'm in the "apologizing corner" I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my own promise and make these author's notes short and without jokes. It's impossible for me to keep my mouth shut. I know it's a bad habit "sigh".

Thanks again to all of you beautiful people who took your time reading, reviewing, following and putting this on favourite! You're amazing and wonderful! :3

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Dangerous Predictions**

Natsu was panting, trying to catch his breath after what felt like eternity had gone by. His body was aching from multiple places because of the wounds he had received, resulting in him hanging heavily in his chains. Unfortunately that meant that the handcuffs was being pressed rather hard against his wrists making the wounds itch and prick in a really uncomfortable way. It didn't hurt though because he had other places that was far more painful at the moment.

_Damn it.._ he thought as he felt more blood slowly running down his arm reaching his armpit …_it tickles... stupid... what a fucking stupid thing to think_... for some reason he started laughing. At first it was a chuckle but eventually it evolved into a hysteric laugh, making tears appear in the corner of his eyes. He didn't know why he was laughing, but it kind of felt good. _Well almost_... considering his condition...

The laughter died rather quickly, making him take a few deep breaths to calm his shaking body.

"Yeah, I must be sadistic... laughing fucking hurts..." he whispered in a gloomy voice while staring in front of him with pain reflecting in his eyes. Fortunately the Lucy-fucking-wannabe-creature wasn't there at the moment, which was a good thing because "it" might think his laugh was either because he was having a good time or he was going crazy ..._Maybe he was going crazy, hm_...

To be honest he knew that some people might have gone crazy before him in this type of situation. Heck, he had experienced a lot of bad things that would leave any sane person unstable. Of course he wasn't pretending it didn't affect him, because it did.

Actually he knew that some of the more specific events he had endured was trying to claw it's way out of the small cage he was suppressing it in inside of his mind. It wasn't healthy locking your feelings away but he didn't really have much of a choice at the moment. The cracks he felt that was trying to shatter his soul into a million pieces, was something he would have to face later on. _But not now... not here_... he already had too many breakdowns already and he knew it would be best trying to harden his resolve to get out of there than moaning about it. _Yeah that's fucking easier said than done_, he thought sarcastically as he started coughing, sending drops of blood flying from some of his internal wounds.

It took a few minutes before he had coughed up the blood that was irritating his throat and once it was gone he started heaving for air. He didn't register how the blood in his mouth started running pass his lips and down his chin, where it fell in small drops to the ground.

Well not that a few drops of blood would matter considering the other wounds he had already received. _Heck, was there even a place on his body that wasn't covered somewhere with either a wound or blood? Not his hair.. that was fine for some reason. So he was basically red and pink right now. _The thought made him chuckle menacingly between breaths, sending ripples of pain through his body from the sudden movements.

He stopped chuckling almost as fast as he had started, making him clench his teeth in anger.

"Damn it... this is silly..." snorting he closed his eyes as he leaned more heavily against the chains, trying to relax somehow in his muscles. Not that it helped, but he was exhausted and needed to calm down in order to give his body a slight chance to heal some of the minor cuts. Well maybe heal wasn't the right word to use, but it could possibly prevent him from bleeding out while hanging there. He did have a lot of wounds and provoking them into bleeding more would not be in his favour. No, on the contrary.

_Lucy_, Natsu thought as he felt a wave of drowsiness overwhelm his body, _where are you_? An image of her smiling appeared in his mind, making him reach a hand towards her, grabbing her shoulder. But as soon as he placed his hand, the smile on her face faltered and was replaced with a strained grimace. The sudden chance made him flinch involuntarily, especially as her eyes started glowing with hatred.

"You..." she snarled, as blood suddenly started running down her face, landing on his hand "... this is your fault". With that she started screaming in a high-pitched voice that seemed so unnatural it sent shivers down his spine.

"Lu..." he practically screamed as his eyes flew open.

_Another fucking dream, huh? _He thought sarcastically while shaking, from the layer of sweat that was now covering his body. _Well, it wouldn't do if his mentality wasn't somehow brutally assaulted as well as his body, no?_

"Tsch..." grunting, he stared blankly in front of him seeing nothing, just feeling the uncomfortable waves running through his body and mind "... why..." he whispered to no one in particular, as he took a deep breath exhaling it shakingly.

"... I just..." The sudden sound of footsteps made him snap his head up, while growling in anger

"So you're back..."

"Aww, you don't have to sound so disappointed..." the blonde purred in a teasing voice as she slowly strode towards him "... I thought we were having fun together..."

"Shut the fuck up, you lunatic" he roared, before snarling towards the girl through clenched teeth.

"Hm, you know you sound like a neutered cat when you do that? Anyhow, I have an idea and I know you'll just loooooove it"

Natsu knew he wouldn't like the idea but he didn't want to comment on it either. Instead he just glared viscously as if it might prevent her from doing something stupid.

"Hmm..." the girl hummed as she put her index finger into her mouth "... this Lucy girl. What is she to you?"

"That..." he said in a dark voice "... is none of your fucking business"

"Hehehe... there we go with the anger again... unfortunately for you she isn't among the living anymore, hm? If you listen carefully you might hear her ghost roaming somewhere saying oooOooohhh!" She squealed in laughter and for a second her eyes glistened red, as she started licking her lips.

"No she isn't..." Natsu whispered and there was something about his voice that made the girl stop laughing.

"She isn't?" she tilted her head and blinked repeatedly as if she didn't understand his sentence.

"No"

"Ohh... well perhaps you're not as dumb as I thought... no?" she started giggling before pointing a finger towards him "But you're right she is indeed alive"

"Stop fucking with my head..." Natsu growled in a lethal voice "... you've been saying she was dead for quite some time now, and all of a sudden you tell me she isn't dead. Well? Where is she then?"

"And whyyyy would I tell you that? Hmm? You know what? I just had an idea!" the girl bounced a few times in excitement, waiting for Natsu's response but when nothing came she stopped her movement to stare at him with tears in her eyes.

"Aren't you going to ask me about my new idea? Hmm? It's good! Finger liking good!"

"I don't care... I just want to know where Lucy is"

"Well depending on how things go I might tell you. Why? Because I feel generous"

"Yeah right..."

"Why are you doubting me? I'm sincere! It's just... I've been with you for sooo long I think someone else might be jealous and we can't have that now can we, hmm? I think it's time I visit your friend to check up on her don't you think?"

"Are you implying you're going to visit Lucy?"

"Maaaybe?"

"Somewhere in the cave?"

"Peeerhaps?"

"Stop" he roared as he once again started wrestling with his chains "this fucking bullshit! Just answer my questions!"

"Hmm, I wonder if I should torture her..."

"Leave her alone!" he screamed in anger "I swear if you harm her I'll..." his eyes widened for a split second before a coughing fit raged through his body making blood fly through the air from his efforts. It took a few minutes but eventually he got a hold of his breathing, leaving him breathless and heaving for air.

"Now that was cute, however..." the blonde grabbed his chin in her hand "... you said you'll what, hm? Kill me perhaps? You're pathetic!"

Natsu glared with murderous intentions as he tried getting control of his breathing.

"Well go on then, kill me. Kill me before I kill this Lucy girl"

Something clicked inside of him making him growl in fury as he tried once more to force his body forward to do some sort of an attack. Even if it was futile and a waste of energy, he had to try.

"Yeah, think about it I'm so close to you while I'm holding your chin, and still you can't do... anything" she sighed in disapproval "but you know what? I'll be sure to send Lucy your sweet, sweet looove. But before that lets turn out the lights for you? Yes? We've had enough play time today and it's time for you to say nighty night!"

Natsu didn't see it but he felt something suddenly grabbing his neck, making it impossible to breathe. A million thoughts seemed to hit him at that moment with full force. He didn't know why and it confused him, because he knew he should be focusing on the fact that he was suffocating.

_It was painful yes... on ohhh so many levels. But then again it was... liberating?_ Was he in such a dire need for relief that he welcomed the darkness that was slowly taking over his mind, as the lack of oxygen took away his consciousness?

_No! _he wanted to yell but he couldn't. It was already too late. He could feel how reality seemed to slip away from his grasp as a voiceless scream passed his lips. _No... _he thought once again as his last hold on reality slipped through his fingers, making him fall into darkness.

* * *

**A/N:** Ugh! Raise your hands if you wanted to hug Natsu when he was struggling with his mind? Personally I was so sad when I wrote that part, because I know what will happen to him later on... so... poor Natsu. I hope you readers hug him a million times in your mind because he really deserves it :)

Okay, so I'm not good at teasing but the next chapter will be quite different from the former ones, because it contains other characters.

H: "Sorry Natsu but it's time for you to leave the stage and make room for others to perform"

Natsu: "Tsch! I don't care. I'm passed out, so I'm not going anywhere am I?"

H: "Nope! So stay tuned for the next chapter! Have a nice day y'all"


	8. Important Progress

**A/N: **This is not a drill, get to the chopper! Woooooo! This chapter is different from the others but you'll figure that out when you read it.

Sooooo... Did anyone notice the new cover image? I made it myself thinking it needed something more personal than the other one. I think it turned out quite well considering it's my first drawing of Natsu made from scratch. So yeah I had fun and I hope you like it :)

Random fun fact: The other day I used a couple of hours on YouTube, watching another person completing the game Hatoful Boyfriend. Yes it is indeed a dating simulation... with pigeons... but it was really entertaining!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Important Progress**

Lucy sighed heavily as she walked down the streets of Magnolia for what felt like the hundredth time, since they started searching for Natsu. Of course they had searched for him in the village where they took their last mission, but after a while they had to go back to Magnolia, to inform the others of what had happened.

In that moment a fast movement suddenly caught her attention and she turned quickly to face whatever it was. But as soon as she looked the thing vanished leaving nothing but thin air.

"What is it...?" whispering to herself she started rubbing her arms, trying to calm the unsettling feeling that was running through her body. For some time now she had caught weird movements in the corner of her eyes, but whenever she turned around it was gone. It almost felt like someone was stalking her, but she never caught whatever, or whoever it was.

An involuntarily chill went down her spine making her clench her teeth as she continued down the road.

"Lucyyy!"

The girl turned around and was glad to see a familiar face.

"Happy! Any news?"

"No..." the cat sulked as he flew towards her, landing on the ground.

"Ohh..." her heart clenched in pain as she heard the blue cat sobbing "... well maybe the other teams have some good news, mm?"

"Mm-mm" Happy shook his head slowly "I just left the guild and no one has seen anything... they... sniff... don't know where... sniff... he is..."

Tears was flowing in a steady stream down the cat's face and Lucy had to take a deep breath, preventing herself from crying too.

"Happy..." she said in a soothing voice before bending her knees and gently patting the cat on his head "... we will find him. He's out there somewhere and we will find him. Heck, maybe he'll turn up at the guild himself and say he entered some eating competition somewhere. Imagine how fat he would be, if he had been stuffing his head with food all this time, hm?"

"He would... he would be round a-a-a-a-a... sniff... and fat like a huge ball"

"Yup"

Happy smiled sadly as he removed a few tears with his paw "... and then I could.. could play with him and pretend he's a giant ball"

"Yeah, we could even make it a competition to see who can kick him furthest away"

"That would be fun... thanks Lucy..."

"You're welcome" she smiled towards the cat who grinned sheepishly before jumping into her arms, giving her a soft hug.

"We'll find... " Happy mumbled as he snuggled his head against her chest "... stupid Natsu..."

Lucy giggled as she watched the cat doze off in her arms. She had noticed the bags under the cat's eyes and she was sure he hadn't slept that much since Natsu disappeared. _Heck, she didn't get that much sleep either._

Another sigh escaped her lips as she started walking again, looking for other members from their guild that might provide her with more information. It didn't take long before she noticed a familiar shape cursing to himself while glaring angrily towards the sunset. Actually it almost looked like he was blaming the sun for being involved somehow with their current situation.

"Gray" she called in a humble voice, trying not to wake the cat in her arms.

"Lucy?" he turned around to look at the girl approaching him "Anything new?"

"No, I was hoping you had some new information?"

"Nahh, not really" he groaned while scratching the back of his head "You know, I was considering going back to that town where you guys took that mission. I mean there must be something there we've overlooked"

Lucy nodded "I was thinking the same thing. Besides I have this suspicious feeling I can't put a finger on"

"Yeah..." he sighed heavily "... I want to go there as quickly as possible, but I know Erza would be furious if we went there without her"

"When will she be back from her mission?"

"Tomorrow morning"

"Okay, well let's meet each other at the guild tomorrow morning and wait for her there"

"Right..." Gray turned his head to stare at the cat snoring happily in her arms "... you should get some sleep too, you look like you need it"

"Well.. yeah..." she smirked nervously "... I haven't slept that well..."

"You're skinny too..."

"Huh?"

Gray took a deep breath before flicking his finger against her forehead, earning a small yelp from Lucy "I'm not blind you know. It's been what? Almost two weeks and I haven't seen you eat even once, at the guild"

"Well... I've... uhm..." she stuttered "I ate at my apartment...?"

"No you don't!" he glared at her in anger "You look like you've lost weight and you wouldn't have done that if you ate properly"

"But I..."

"No Lucy! I know you're sad but it's no excuse for slacking! So please go home, get something to eat and have a good nights sleep. Then we'll continue our search tomorrow"

"Gray, I know you mean well, but there's no reason for you to get angry"

"No... no..." Gray moaned as he used both hands to ruffle his hair "Ugh! I'm sorry. This whole situation is making me antsy"

"I know... you should go home and get some rest too"

He sighed heavily "Well I guess there isn't anything better to do right now..."

Lucy smiled genuinely towards him before waving goodbye and walking towards her apartment. It didn't take long before she got there, making her reach into her pocket after the key to her door. But as soon as she got it, she froze in her tracks. Something was there she knew it. It was exactly like the other times where she felt some weird presence, but unfortunately there was nothing visible so she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

A chill went down her spine as she stood there staring at her door. _Why couldn't she move? What was wrong with her? What was this mysterious feeling that felt like someone was staring at her with hungry eyes?_

Lucy sank her spit, as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. While doing that she noticed a thin layer of cold sweat was slowly spreading cross her body, making the hair on her neck rise in fear.

"Lucy...?" she jumped nervously, only to realise it was Happy speaking "... what's wrong?"

"Ohh.." she smiled nervously "I don't know... it's..."

"You're scared"

"Yes" Lucy didn't deny it because she knew it was rather obvious.

"Who... what is it? That thing..." Happy took a few sniffs "I can't smell anyone"

"I know..." she blinked a few times almost surprised that Happy could feel whatever it was. For some reason she was starting to think it was her own mind that was creating things, because she was so stressed and sad. _Well, and the fact that she didn't get enough to eat might have made her slightly delusional._

The feeling suddenly seemed to vanish, making both of them take a deep breath as if something had taken the air from their lungs.

"That was weird..." Happy blinked as he looked up at Lucy who nodded in return before putting the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door with shaking hands.

"Are you hungry?" she tried asking in a casual tone while walking into her apartment.

"... aye..." the cat replied in a low voice.

"Okay! Hmm, let's see what we can find in the kitchen, shall we?"

"Mmm!" the cat jumped out of her arms landing gracefully on the floor. Lucy couldn't help a grin from spreading as she closed the door.

"So what would you like to..." her eyes widened as something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. Quickly she turned around but only to stare at thin air.

Lucy could feel an almost primal fear creeping inside of her as she once again saw something moving making her turn in it's direction, making her stare dumb folded at one of her walls, where it looked like her shadow was... _shaking?_

"What...?" she said barely above a whisper while staring at the wall.

"Lucy..." Happy said in a nervous voice before staring at the shadow too "...what's going on?"

"I don't know Happy..."

The shadow seemed to respond to their words as it shook more violently until it suddenly stopped moving.

"Ohh myy..." an unknown voice said, followed by a bone chilling laughter "... you have company tonight Lucy"

Lucy and Happy shrieked as a mysterious silhouette suddenly appeared on the wall.

"Who... what are you?" Lucy inquired while reaching for her whip, holding it firmly in her hand.

"I'm... hmm... your friend" the shadow opened it's eyes, staring menacingly towards her "I've been here... a long time... watching... waiting... caring..."

Lucy froze in fear, feeling caught by the eyes that was glaring at her wickedly, shining with a fierce red colour.

"Natsu sends his sweet, sweet looove" the shadow hummed in a teasing voice.

"What did you say?" Lucy growled in disbelief.

"You heard me... now come..." a hand slowly materialised from the shadow "let me touch that soft skin of yours one more time..." the rest of the hand was revealed making Lucy and Happy gag for a second when they smelled the decaying meat on it "... come..."

Lucy and Happy screamed in terror as they stared at the hand opening and closing, grabbing the air as if it was choking an invisible enemy.

"Come to me..." all of the creatures arm was now revealed "... let me send you my looove... Ohh, I'll have that, thank you..." it laughed as it snatched the whip out of Lucy's hand, making her shriek in surprise, because the movement was so quick she nearly didn't see it.

"Shhh, you're so loud..." the creature said but they kept screaming, especially when they saw pink hair suddenly appearing from the shadow.

_No... No it can't be... please... no... _Lucy thought frantically trying to do something, but her body was so paralysed with fear that she couldn't move. _Dear god no... _she watched in horror as Natsu's head was revealed, popping out from within the shadow.

He was grinning hysterically as if he had gone mad. Besides that his face was covered with blood coming from multiple wounds, but fortunately it didn't look like his meat was decaying. _How was that possible? It was almost as if it was two different bodies coming out of her wall. But how?_

Lucy could feel hot tears streaming down her face as she with renewed strength grabbed her keys

"I don't know who or what you are, but you're not fooling me" Lucy yelled in fury as she started chanting her summoning spell, but she was interrupted as her door was kicked open making both her and Happy jump in surprise.

"Lucy! Happy! What's going on?!" Gray shouted prepared for an attack, but to his surprise both of them was staring at the wall.

"What...?" he stared bewildered as a shadow on the wall seemed to shimmer and vanish.

"It's... gone..." Lucy whispered "... in a second it just... vanished..." she was shivering uncontrollably holding her keys more tightly.

"Lucy... what was that? Was it Natsu...?" Happy asked in a shaking voice.

"No... it couldn't be... it... no..."

"But the smell... it smelled like him..."

"I know..."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Gray tried once more but was met with silence as both the girl and the cat turned around to stare at him, like he was a monster that had suddenly appeared from some random horror story "... and why are you looking at me like that?"

Lucy felt something inside of her crack as tears again started running down her face.

"Oy, oy sorry I heard screaming and wanted to make sure you guys were okay..."

He didn't get to finish that sentence as the blonde suddenly collided rather hard with his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Ugh!" he groaned as he felt her arms wrap around his torso hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry... I'm sorry..." she whispered while crying against his chest making him feel rather awkward.

"Uhm it's okay...?" he tried, while frantically waving his arms, unsure of what to do with them.

Confused he kept waving his arms like an idiot for a few seconds, but eventually he sighed in defeat and wrapped his them around her torso.

"Idiot..." he whispered while rubbing her back with his hands, trying to calm her down.

They stood like that for a while before Gray turned his head to look at the cat who was staring blankly in front of him.

"Happy?" he tried but the cat kept staring.

"Happy?" still no reaction.

"Fur ball!"

"Huh?" the cat turned towards Gray with a rather confused look.

"What happened here?"

"Uhm..."

"It's okay, I'll tell you..." Lucy said while removing her arms from Gray, smiling awkwardly as she took a step back "I'm not sure what or who it was, but I'll fill you in, okay?"

"Good... Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you fill me in while we eat?"

"Huh?" she gapped at him as if he was speaking a different language.

"Food!" he sighed before ruffling his hair with his hand "I don't know what happened here, but I have a feeling that you forgot I demanded you to eat, didn't you?"

Lucy blushed as she started pouting "... no I didn't..."

"You're a terrible liar" he grinned before grabbing her hand forcing her towards the kitchen "Come on! I'll help you cook while you tell me what the fuck is going on. You too Happy!"

The cat nodded weakly as he stared at the two of them go into the kitchen. As he did he tilted his head in confusion for a second before grinning wickedly as he glared at Lucy's blushing cheeks.

"Graaaay... when did you take off your clothes?"

* * *

"Hmm... I don't like it" Gray grumbled as Lucy removed their plates from the table.

"You're not being nice to Lucy..." Happy stared at him accusingly.

"Hm?"

"Saying you don't like it... Isn't nice..."

"Ohh" he rolled his eyes "I didn't mean the food, I meant the whole situation"

"Ahh..." melancholy seemed to wash over the cat making his ears and head hang in sorrow.

"I wish we could go now... leave Erza a note or something..."Gray grunted in frustration.

"But... didn't you say we had to rest before leaving?" Happy questioned.

"Yeah... I did didn't I...?"

They sat in silence until Lucy finished cleaning the table.

"So..." she said before placing herself on a chair "what now?"

"I don't know" Gray said honestly while staring at her intensely "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"How did Natsu look the last time you saw him?"

"He looked fine. You know, normal, healthy. He did not have any wounds if that's what you're implying"

"Hmm... I still don't get it. It can't be a coincidence that this... thing... whatever is is! Appears after he vanished. Especially when you say that you've felt like someone or something was stalking you"

"I know... Gray do you think that this... thing.. has done something with Natsu?"

"Maybe, it's too soon to tell, but to be honest I wouldn't be surprised"

"Me neither" she shivered involuntarily as a lot of uncomfortable thoughts ran through her mind.

"I'm scared..." the cat sniffed "... I miss him..."

"I know you do. Come here" Lucy lured with a finger towards the cat who jumped across the table and into her arms "We'll find him I promise"

"... aye..." the cat purred as she gently stroked his fur trying to comfort him. It didn't take more than a few seconds before he was snoring loudly with a bobble of snot dangling out of his nose.

"You know Lucy..." Gray stared at the sleeping cat for a second making sure he was sleeping before continuing "... I don't want to say this, but if what you saw earlier has anything to do with Natsu, then he might not be in top condition. I mean, it can't be a coincidence that it showed you an image of him with wounds unless..."

"Stop, please... I thought about it too but we can't say anything for certain until we find him. I'm worried about him and I'm afraid that something bad might have happened because he would never just vanish, unless something happened that is preventing him from coming back. But... I believe in him and I know he'll do whatever he can to get back..."

"I know" he sighed in frustration "It's not healthy thinking about the negative aspects of this situation. But there are just so many things I don't understand about all of this. Usually I wouldn't mind that much, because I want results more than a long boring story" He tilted his head as he continued "It's like we're missing something important, right? Perhaps you guys could tell us again what happened when we go to the village tomorrow. Then we can ask Erza what she thinks about this whole situation"

"I want to hear her opinion too. Besides we might find something, a clue perhaps? If we discuss it from other perspectives"

"Right..." Gray stated while getting into a standing position "I should get home and get some sleep. It's only a few hours until dawn and I want to get there first thing tomorrow"

"Well, you could stay here tonight. It's not like you haven't slept here before"

"No, it's okay..." he said taking a few steps towards her door.

"It's fine you can just sleep on the couch"

"Alright" shrugging he turned around on his feet and walked in a different direction.

"... you're very easily convinced..." she sighed before yawning loudly, making her realise how tired she actually was. It had been a long day and her lack of sleep wasn't doing anything good either. Yawning again she started walking towards her bed, with Happy snoring loudly in her arms.

"... what the...?" stumbling for a second she turned her head towards something laying on the floor "... you've got to be kidding me..." her eyes narrowed in disbelief as she took a few more steps, staring at the now sleeping form of Gray snoring loudly on her bed

"I said you could use the couch, not my bed..." she growled while clenching one of her fists "... and put your clothes back on!"

* * *

**A/N:** I love Gray, especially angry Gray and I know he might be too angry in this chapter – but heck his "best friend" is missing, anyone would be mad and frustrated if that happened. Besides I think he's a close friend to Lucy too and of course he worries about her, if he suspects something is wrong. So there is nothing romantic going on there, but just like writing about them having a deeper bond than just being on the same team and members of the same guild.

So until next time! :)

/Hejmdal


	9. Crushing Conversation

**A/N: **Everything is awesome!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Crushing Conversation**

Lucy was twisting and turning uncomfortably in her bed because she was having another nightmare about her dad. It wasn't always she remembered what happened in her nightmares but it would still cling to her like an uncomfortable blanket afterwards. This time it was all a blur mainly consisting of random images and dialogues, but that seemed to make it even more terrifying. Mainly because she couldn't pinpoint what was going on, because it was all fragments shouting at her at the same time _Why... why did this happen? Please this already happened, the past can't be changed, so why... please make it stop... Dad? What are you doing here? Stop... Please..._

She woke up screaming, bathed in sweat while taking unsteady breaths to calm her racing heartbeat. Unconsciously she clenched her hand and held it against her chest as if it might soothe her somehow.

"Lucy? Are you okay?" she looked down to stare at Happy who was looking at her with concern.

"Sorry, I was... having a nightmare I guess"

"Oy! What's wrong?!" Gray yelled as he barged in through the door, ready to attack anything that looked remotely as an enemy.

"Lucy was having a nightmare" Happy said in a low voice while staring at Lucy.

"Ohh..."

"It's okay... I'm fine... go back to sleep" Lucy said in a low voice as she turned to look at Gray "it'll be morning soon, you should get more sleep... it was just a dream... nothing to worry about..." her voice was trembling, and she was sopping every other second to prevent snot from flowing freely out of her nose.

"Yeah right you're fine..." he snorted "... and I'm the fairy that magically removes cat poop from the litter box. Here" he reached his hand towards her.

"Wh... what?"

"Just take it, okay"

"Oh, mm... kay?" she said before grabbing his hand.

"Now go back to sleep... I'll keep you safe"

"But... aren't you tired?"

"It's okay" yawning he sat down on the floor "I don't mind sleeping like this"

"You sure?"

"Yeah"

"Mmm..." Lucy actually felt more relaxed having him there "... thanks"

"Don't mention it... you know, Ur used to hold my hand whenever I had nightmares. At first I was too stubborn to grab it. You know it wouldn't be manly to do that... but eventually I learned how much it matters just having a hand to hold on to. How are you feeling?"

"Better... actually... thanks"

"See? Damn I'm tired... see you tomorrow"

"Yeah see you tomorrow"

* * *

_This is fucking bullshit! _Natsu thought while panting and hanging heavily in his chains. _There has to be some way out of this... something... please... just... anyway... _he tilted his head slightly at the sound of footsteps and knew that the silhouette was back before even seeing it.

He barely got the chance to raise his head towards the creature before he felt something hard smack his cheek, making him hiss in both pain and anger.

"Ohh you're awake?"

Natsu growled furiously before spitting the blood that had gathered in his mouth out on the floor.

"So you're back?"

"Lucy is fun to play with"

"Fuck you" he growled while staring at the thing who was still copying Lucy's appearance.

"You don't believe me do you? What if I told you that I met that annoying blue cat of yours and that dude who likes to strip. Mmm... Gray I think they called him"

"You're lying..." his voice cracked making it painfully obvious that he was having doubts.

"Mmm... but it was nice of him to comfort her when she was having a nightmare. The two of them... aaaaall alone in her big bed underneath that weird pink coloured bet sheet. Seriously why pink? And what's with those weird heart shaped things on it?"

"Tsch..." he snorted turning his head in the opposite direction, trying to ignore the creature. _It's a lie, it had to be. Besides those bed sheets could be common for girls to have..._

"But what's with all those plushies she has? It looked like the twelve celestial spirits?"

Growling he turned his face towards her again. _It couldn't be..._

"How?" he snarled through gritted teeth.

"Shadows... they are endless and everywhere. If I wanted to I could go to her like this" she snapped her fingers "Besides I can almost hide my presence if I want to. I don't have to reveal myself unless I want people to notice me"

"Why?"

"Because it's more fun this way" giggling she grabbed Lucy's whip and in a quick movement used it to lash his chest, earning a pained scream to escape Natsu's lips "Don't you think?"

"... I don't care. You just... said that you visited Lucy. That means she isn't in this cave but outside and doing well" he smirked defiantly towards the creature.

"Mmm ohh well" she hummed "Maybe she is? Maybe she isn't? It's pointless anyway, because you can feel it, can't you?"

"Feel what?"

"How your sanity is slowly breaking apart. Just like a tiny crack in glass that suddenly escalates until it finally shatters into a million pieces. You're not sure of what's reality and what's an illusion. Your heart desperately keeps struggling"

"And who's fault is that, huh?" he growled in anger.

"Does it matter? Question time!" she pointed her finger accusingly towards him "Why are you so confident in your abilities, hm? Why do you think that you'll eventually save her?"

"Because I will. If she needs me I'll be there" narrowing his eyes he stared at the girl who rolled her eyes before slapping a hand against her forehead.

"Oh dear! You know you're such a romantic idiot!" snarling she removed the hand to point at him again "You really think everything can be solved by your own hands if only your heart is in it don't you? Are you that self-centred? Do you truly believe that you can save everyone like some silly hero in a fairy tale? Hm? That you'll get the princess in the end and live happily ever after? Well

NEWS-FUCKING-FLASH" she yelled while flicking her finger on his forehead "This isn't a fucking story! This is reality. Life isn't about good and evil it's about whether or not you can have any influence"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Well haven't you ever lost something important to you because you were insufficient?"

"Tsch!" he snorted in despise.

"Yes you have! And that's because you can't predict everything! You can't control life or it's contents! You gain power to prevent bad things from happening but can you honestly say that you're so good that you can control everything? Hm? Are you some sort of god who can rescue everyone you hold dear, just because you believe it in your heart? So let me ask you this. When Igneel left was that a good thing or a bad thing? Lucy's father dying before she got to talk to him, was that a miracle bound to happen? See? It's not that simple"

"It has nothing to do with this!" Natsu roared in anger.

"It has everything to do with this! You think this Lucy is precious to you but can you prevent her from leaving you? Hm? If she wanted to travel far, far away one day how would you prevent her from doing so?"

"What the fuck are you playing at? She would never leave in the first place. But if she had a reason to... leave... I wouldn't prevent her. She's an individual and she has the right to do as she likes"

"Ohh you're hilarious! And here I thought I was the insane person in here. Listen to you! You don't believe your own words! But it doesn't matter... no... all you need to know is that you're useless. If I wanted to I could have killed Lucy quicker than the blink of an eye. And what could you do? Scream about it? That reminds me, didn't I kill her earlier, where you couldn't do anything? Hm? You know I shouldn't have to explain this to you. I know you and I know that you've been thinking about all the negative aspects I'm telling you"

"Shut... the hell up!" he roared as images started appearing inside of his mind.

"No! She died in here! And you couldn't do ANYTHING about it!"

"I said SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he screamed with all the power he could muster, leaving him heaving for air as he stared towards the woman in front of him. His throat hurt like hell, but he didn't really register it. No, something had sparked inside of his mind making him somehow lose his hold on reality.

"Ohhh... and what makes you think I would shut up, just because you hiss like a kitten, hm? You know what? I don't think you truly grasp what I'm saying. Because you're dense!"

"So what if I'm fucking dense! It doesn't matter what you say because you brought me hope, didn't you? You clearly implied Lucy is safe so tell me why the fuck I would even listen to you, huh?"

She snickered teasingly while swaying her hips "Hmm... because I can make your worst fears come true. You know that don't you?"

"They're just fucking illusions"

"Well... real or not, it still hurts doesn't it?"

Natsu grunted in defiance while glaring daggers towards the girl. He wouldn't be caught so easily. Sure his mind was more fragile, because he had been there a long time and it was true he had been exposed to horrible things. But he wouldn't bulge. No, he would claw his way through this no matter what. Especially since the fucking-Lucy-wannabe gave him hope. It wasn't like some huge revelation had been invoked, but it was enough for him to smirk in defiance towards the creature.

"Tsch!" she spat before raising one of her hands "I see you still don't understand. You will though... oh yes! Evidently I've been too modest and kind to you! You'll learn... the deepest darkest fears... the pain you can't escape even if you try. You want hell? I'll give you hell!" her eyes was sparkling red for a second as shadows suddenly seemed to rise from the ground, spawning around her like black waves.

"Yes you'll learn" the shadows around her twisted and turned, becoming long snake-like figures towering all around her small frame.

"What the fuck are you planning?" Natsu hissed.

"Ohh you'll see... and when you do it'll be too late, because in the end you'll fail. Just like everyone else!" some of the snake-like shadows inched over her arms before stopping at her hands, which was pointing at him.

"Goodnight Dragneel... this might be the last time we see each other" as she uttered that sentence the shadows shot at him, wrapping him like a dozen of ropes. It didn't take long for the shadows to capture his whole body, making him tremble from the uncomfortable feeling. Just like the other times it felt like darkness was trying to suppress him, overwhelming his senses with a sense of dread. It was cold and suffocating. But for some reason he still struggled. He wouldn't let this thing get the best of him.

"Good... fucking... night!" he roared feeling the shadows overwhelm him, covering everything in black.

* * *

"Ugh!" Natsu exclaimed as he felt his body flatten against something he presumed was the ground.

The impact knocked the air out of his lungs making him pant as he got on his hands and knees.

_Where the fuck is this? _He wondered before taking a look around. It looked like the fields outside of Magnolia? _What the... _his eyes widened in confusion as he turned his head frantically.

"Huh?" confused he got into a standing position, surprised at how light he felt. Like he didn't have any wounds?

"Huh?!" he gabbed in surprise while looking at his body. _It was unharmed? How? Who? What?_

Confused he started sniffing a few times to see if it might give him some answers. It smelt like... well fresh air but there was also a faint scent of other people. Yes, and he knew their smells quite well. _But it couldn't be..._

Turning around he saw a cat observing two people who seemed to be fighting verbally with each other, and sure enough it was the people he had identified with his nose.

_Bullshit!_ He growled, igniting both hands as he stomped towards the group. When he was close enough he saw Gray turn towards him with a surprised look on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing, idiot?" he asked with an annoyed look on his face "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

"Shut the hell up!" Natsu roared making Lucy and Happy jump slightly in surprise.

"Seriously this doesn't concern you" Lucy sneered towards him before turning her head towards Gray again "This is our fight"

"What fight?" Natsu asked looking at the two of them staring at each other.

"You should leave... you don't want to see this" Happy said in a sad voice "Go... go now!"

"And get stabbed in the back the moment I turn around? I don't think so!" Natsu glared at the cat for a second before turning his gaze towards Lucy and Gray who was still staring at each other, like they wanted nothing more than to rip the other person's head off.

"If you insist..." the cat sighed "But you can't interfere... this is the curse... of the past"

"What..." surprised he watched as the cat spawned his wings, flying up to his face and gently placing a paw on his forehead "... are you doing?"

His body seemed to stiffen all of a sudden, making him immobile. _For fucks sake not this again! _He growled trying to move his body, but nothing happened.

The cat seemed sad as he removed his paw and in a swift move landed next to him on the ground.

"Remember I warned you..." Happy whispered "... now watch... watch the story unfold"

Confused Natsu turned his eyes towards the cat who was glaring towards Lucy and Gray, who was arguing again. For some reason he couldn't make out what they were saying, but it had to be something cruel because both of them had hate written all over their body language.

Lucy was growling and suddenly he could hear their voices again.

"You've changed..." she said while grabbing her whip "... you're insane!"

"Oh really? What makes you say that?" he grinned wickedly as he brought his hands together ready to attack.

"You're trying to kill me!"

"Yes... I have to. It said so... if I don't... we'll both die"

"What are you talking about?"

"It told me so... the voice... that I have to kill you" Gray looked sad for a second but that feeling was soon replaced with fury as he started firing ice towards the girl.

"Stop it! What the hell do you think you're doing Gray?!" Natsu roared trying again to struggle against the thing confining his body but it was a futile effort "Oy! You listening?!"

"He can't hear you..." Happy facepalmed before continuing "I told you... you can't stop this"

"Like hell I can!" he roared but his voice seemed to drown as both Lucy and Gray started screaming, engulfing themselves in their battle against each other.

It wasn't an unfair fight as some people might have presumed. Lucy was quick on her feet using her whip to counter attack and make some visible wounds on Gray, whenever she was close enough. She didn't use her keys which was odd, but Natsu didn't ponder on it because she seemed capable given the circumstances. But then again she wasn't invincible or could avoid every attack because Gray was really good at using his own momentums to stab Lucy with his ice whenever he could.

Natsu felt horrible watching the fight escalate because it was clear as daylight that they were both putting all of their effort into killing the opponent. The aura's around them was filled with so much hatred and pain it made him feel uncomfortable, wanting nothing more than to end it.

Lucy smirked for a second as she found an opening and used her whip and successfully managed to wrap it around Gray's neck.

"Tsch!" the ice mage growled trying to remove the whip with both hands, because it was suffocating him "Re... move..." he was snapping for air but he couldn't get sufficient air to enter his lungs "... please..." dropping to his knees he reached one of his hands towards Lucy "... please...".

Lucy seemed surprised for a second but in a quick movement she removed her whip, making Gray stumble forward, heaving for air.

"Thank you... I'm so sorry..." his voice was shaking "I'm sorry..." he turned his head towards her. Tears was streaming down his face and his lips was trembling "I'm just so confused..."

Lucy smiled gently as she walked towards the crying boy.

"It's okay..." she said while wrapping her arms around him ".. we'll figure it out somehow. I have faith in you, you're just confused that's all"

"Yeah..." he returned the hug "... but... I can't... it has to stop..."

"Shhh... we've been through worse things haven't we..."

"Ye... yeah..."

"I love you..."

"I love you too sis... that's why I have to do this" exhaling he used his hand to quickly throw her whip away, before making ice spawn underneath Lucy, capturing her legs to the ground.

"No..." she tried struggling against the ice but she couldn't move her legs "No... don't..."

"I'm sorry..." Gray whispered in a dark voice before creating a huge sword of ice, holding it in front of him prepared to make the killing blow.

"No.. no stop this!" Natsu yelled again but could only watch in horror as Gray raised his arm ready to strike at any moment.

Time froze in that instant, capturing the scenario like a picture in front of him.

"What...?"

"If you could..." Happy said as he suddenly appeared in front of Natsu again "... would you stop this?"

"Of course I would!"

"I can help you..." the cat looked sad for a second "... but it might have consequences"

"What consequences?"

"Nothing mayor... it might hurt your body, because it will put a lot of strain on you"

"Is that all?" Natsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion towards Happy.

"Aye"

"Then do it! If it can prevent her from dying, then I don't care"

"Even if this is an illusion?" the cat crooked an eyebrow "You would make that choice?"

"Yes! Illusion or not I don't want to watch her die again"

"Very well..." Happy placed his paw on Natsu's forehead once more "Finish it"

Natsu could feel the restraints on his body slowly vaporising, making him smirk towards the cat.

"Ohh I will"

"Good..." the cat started laughing hysterically for a few seconds "... this will be fun..."

A shiver went down Natsu's spine as he watched Happy's eyes turn red for a second, before vanishing leaving nothing but thin air.

Time seemed to unfreeze simultaneously with him gaining control of his body, making him sprint towards Gray as soon as his legs allowed it.

"Stop!" he yelled while raising an ignited hand, ready to strike when he was close enough.

"Ohh... I'm so sorry" Lucy looked sad as she turned her head towards the dragon slayer "You made the wrong choice"

"Yeah..." Gray sighed heavily "... he did..."

"What?" Natsu questioned as he tried stopping his attack, but for some reason his body wouldn't listen "What?!" his eyes widened in horror when his legs suddenly made him jump into the air.

"You'll kill us without mercy..." Lucy smirked slightly "... and you can't stop it. It's too late"

"History repeating, huh?" Gray was smiling sadly as he turned his head towards the girl.

"Yes" she answered in a low voice.

_Fuck! _This was the last reasonable voice he heard, as he started an ongoing circle of attacks that rained down on his friends. It was similar to a slaughterhouse and unfortunately Natsu couldn't prevent it from happening. No, instead he was captured inside his body, watching in pain as his own hands and his surroundings was covered in blood.

* * *

Natsu was crying and screaming in agony at the things happening inside of his skull. For him it felt like hours had gone by, but in reality it wasn't that long. Of course he didn't know that nor did it truly matter.

Sighing the creature impersonating Lucy stared at the dragon slayer as he kept twisting and turning, trying to prevent the mental images from happening.

"You made the wrong choice... they all do..." her voice was sad but her eyes never left the boy who screaming in pain "... so did I..."

After a while Natsu's body seemed to freeze, before it started falling making him dangle in his chains, heaving for air.

"It's over..." she walked over to the dragon slayer and grabbed his chin, forcing his face upwards.

"Yeah..." whispering she glared into his blank and rather dead eyes, who was seeing nothing but the painful images still rummaging through his mind ".. it's done... game over"

The girl took a deep breathe as she fetched a bottle, grabbing his chin once more "I'll finish this with dignity... relax... this will help" her voice was gentle as she started pouring the liquid into his mouth.

Of course Natsu didn't really register it because he was occupied with other things at the moment. He did feel it though. How the liquid inside of his mouth ran down his throat into his stomach. It felt like ice, but then a again there was this weird burning sensation to it, warming his mouth and throat, making it prickle and tingly as if he had swallowed something containing glass.

"Your future might not be yours alone, but no matter how many obstacles you encounter, like me, it will make you stronger. Well it's either that or you die".

The creature sighed as if in pain before grabbing Natsu's handcuffs and unlocking them, making him fall hard towards the ground.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered in a fragile voice, and this seemed to wake something inside of the dragon slayer who turned his head towards her.

"Survive... conquer your own insanity..." she said while slowly vanishing "... and live... prove me wrong and live... be one of the first to survive these caves... and find her... this Lucy... and tell her how you feel... it might not be too late... if not ... it's game over"

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter is way more cruel than the original version, but as a reviewer pointed out Natsu needed something more to make him snap. Truth be told I agree (I'll continue this in the next A/N).

So yeah I know I'm implying the horror he experiences but I couldn't type that specific part in detail, because that would be too morbid. Even after my standards...

Random fact: I'm not an expert in psychology but I still think Lucy having nightmares about her father's death is highly plausible. I base this on my own experience because I still have these creepy nightmares about my mom and dad being alive, even though they died half a year ago.

So yeah, I know it's individual but without going into detail, he was her only remaining relative so I think it's more than likely that it affected her somehow. I mean if she doesn't have any reactions other than her crying when she learned about his death, then she would be inhuman and not in contact with her emotions. Because of course it hurts losing someone and that pain won't go away, just because you want it to.

So compared to Lucy I don't think she would necessarily share that pain with others, because she might not want to burden other people. It's selfish but I could imagine she would be like that.

I hope you had a nice weekend! :)

/Hejmdal


	10. Assaulting Mentality

**A/N: **IMPORTANT NOTICE! (breaking news, weee!).

I changed the last chapter's content because I wasn't satisfied with it. Thanks lilpumkingirl for pointing it out, because you're absolutely right, it didn't make sense making him snap after giving him hope. So yeah I recommend you read it, because I added some... mmm... things... that eventually makes him snap.

Besides that I added something that is slightly important to the plot, because I had a moment of inspiration. Well it was something that I planned to incorporate later on (in chapter 16) but for some reason it made sense using it in chapter 9. Ahh sorry I'll stop blabbering or I'll accidentally spoil the plot.

The new content in chapter 9 starts with the sentence:

"Ohhh... and what makes you think I would shut up, just because you hiss like a kitten, hm? You know what? I don't think you truly grasp what I'm saying. Because you're dense!".

It is rather early in the chapter and in the section after the second dividing line. I know I added a lot (approximately 5 pages) so there is a bit to read.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience :(

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Assaulting Mentality**

_Why... is she apologising? _Natsu thought as he stared at the creature impersonating Lucy vanish into thin air.

_Throat... it burns..._ grasping for air, he reached towards his neck feeling the skin underneath his fingers. _But does it matter? She's dead... no... she isn't dead... they both are... wait... no ...she isn't... neither is he? It said... to find her...? Or what was that? So confused..._

His fingers started scratching his throat in an even rhythm, before a thought hit him, making him extend his arms to look at his hands.

_This is... blood... but.. is it mine?_

He kept staring at his hands for awhile unsure what to do next.

_Get out of here..._

_What..._

_GET OUT OF HERE NOW!_ He winched at his own thoughts while struggling to stand up.

_Can't... body is_... his muscles was protesting against his movements, making his entire body shiver and stagger as he fought against himself … _failing... again... why... so much blood... my hands..._

Panting he found himself standing on unsteady feet. The world around him was shaking and rotating as if he was drunk. He felt so dizzy and wanted nothing more than to sleep... _sleep... why not... why fight any longer?_ His eyelids felt heavy, as he tried taking a steps forward.

W_here is this going? Lucy... Gray... sorry... My fault... it hurts... where is she? Want to see her... Move...go..._

… _no... don't want to..._

_Just freaking MOVE!_

Howling in frustration, he tried fighting against the multiple barriers that had spawned inside of his head, capturing his hope in a tiny box. But he couldn't get to it... he was so utterly lost inside himself.

Even so he had to keep him moving no matter what... it was hard though, because his body felt like a pile of mud and his vision was blurry like hell.

Natsu managed to take a few steps forward before he had to slam his body against the cave wall, heavily breathing, as everything seemed to rotate like a spinning wheel. _Fuck... _he thought as he raised his hands in front of him before and igniting them. _Shit fucking fuck_... gritting his teeth he stared at blurry and wobbling hands, covered in blood and small glowing flames.

Even though he couldn't see thing's straight he could see the contours of his hands and by the looks of it the bandages he had placed earlier, was practically gone leaving the wounds open and bleeding.

_So much dried blood..._ he chuckled from the thought _How long, huh? How fucking long? Eternity? No... it couldn't be that long... silly thinking that... but... did any one miss him? _He started laughing cynically. _No... they died... by these hands... unforgivable... hey at least it still hurts laughing! Hooray!_

"Tsch!" he spat as the pain rushed through his body.

"Fuck you, I'm going already..." he chuckled darkly as he pushed himself away from the wall, staggering as he took the first few steps.

_Why fuck you, huh? The thoughts are legit aren't they... she died... heck Gray died too! And what could you do about it? Scream like a fucking kid?_

"Shut... the FUCK... UP!" the volume of his voice made it echo around him, making it sound like his own voice was mocking him.

_No! You shut up! The shadow fucktard was right. You're useless! You couldn't save anyone even if the person you needed to save was served on a dish right in front of you..._

"Shut up..."

_You couldn't prevent Igneel from leaving...he said bye-biddy-bye-bye and left a crying boy to take care of himself... seriously who does that? Isn't that bad parenting?_

"Shut up..."

_You're not honest about your own feelings... you never have been... ohh look this is me! Look at me dancing! Then you might not see what is hidden underneath the façade! Distractions! Nothing more than fucking distractions! One more things! You think you can save everyone if your heart is in it?What was that? Didn't you just rather brutally kill your two best friends... heck you watched Lucy die twice in here! Your heart is strong... indeed it is... strong as butter that melts when you leave it in the sun..._

"SHUT UP!" Natsu roared making ripples of pain rush through his body "It's not..." a fit of coughs made him cover his mouth with a hand, he quickly extinguished as the coughing seemed to worsen.

_Can't breathe... can't... breathe... air... _he thought frantically as his legs gave up underneath him forcing him down on his hands and knees. _Can't even argue with myself without becoming a incompetent idiot..._

The world around him was rotating more violently because of his lack of oxygen, but fortunately it stopped when he felt the blood that was irritating his system entered his mouth, making it splatter on the hand he used to cover his mouth.

When the coughing stopped, Natsu took a deep shaking breath making his body shiver uncomfortably. He kept standing on his hands and knees heaving for air, as sweat started running down his forehead. For some reason it was rather difficult to breathe resulting in him collapsing on the ground.

His body started quivering as a few spasms suddenly made him twist and turn uncomfortably. Fortunately he got a hold of his breathing, as he laid there.

_Hooray teen points for breathing! That's an accomplishment you can brag about!_

_Damn it... fucking thoughts! He had to move...keep going... no matter what... but what is..._

There was something out there moving. He no longer had his hands ignited so he couldn't see what it was. _No, but he could feel it... moving... waiting.. breathing... growling..._

Natsu didn't move but kept still, listening to his surroundings trying to figure out what was out there. _Where... what..._

"You're pathetic..."

"Er... za?" He said barely above a whisper, staring as the woman suddenly appeared in front of him. The sight caused his breath to get caught in his throat for a painful moment.

"I always knew you would end up like this. Alone, useless... you're such an idiot" a second voice said filled with loath and hatred. Natsu's eyes widened as he recognised the person as Gray, who suddenly spawned right next to the red haired woman.

"We all saw it coming..." a female voice said before the frame of a blonde girl appeared next to the others "... it was just a matter of time before he would fail us all and we knew it"

"It can't be..." Natsu whispered as he stared at Lucy who was glaring back at him with so much anger and hatred, that he could feel his heart clench in pain.

"Aye! You know I think it would be best if we just leave him here... he doesn't deserve rescuing" Happy growled with claws pointing in the dragon slayers direction.

"No..." Natsu clenched his hands as a sudden pain started spreading inside of his chest making it hard to breathe again "... you would never..."

"We would never what? Eh?" Erza's voice boomed as she placed her foot on his head "Betray you? This is your own doing! It was you who betrayed me first, remember? If you had been stronger and more clever, then Simon wouldn't have died at the Tower of Heaven. It was not his time to die! If only... but no... you couldn't save him and the time has come to receive my judgement".

The silence was deafening as she removed her foot from his head "Solitude... this is your punishment..." she hissed in a voice dripping with anger, before turning around and walking away.

Natsu felt her words hitting him like a dagger, making his stomach tighten in pain as he turned his head in her direction "No... Erza.. please... I... it wasn't..." he tried appealing in a broken voice as he watched her body fading away.

"Why didn't you go with them..." Happy was staring at him with huge accusing eyes "... it's your fault Lisanna died... I thought... we... us... would be a happy family. You... I know she came back later but... why didn't you go?! Even if she wasn't my real mother she's the only thing I had resembling one! And you took that away from me! I... I thought you knew how painful it is losing a parent and still you took it away from me!" tears started falling down the cat's face "... I don't want you any more! You're an idiot! I hate you! This solitude thing... you deserve it!"

"Please listen..." Natsu tried appealing to the cat but he was already gone leaving a huge crack in the dragon slayers heart making him take a few shaking breaths.

"But the cat is right you know" Gray snarled through gritted teeth "If you had done your job right then Lyon wouldn't have succeeded in creating Moon Drip and freeing Deliora. I had to relive some fucking bad memories because of that! And for that alone you deserve solitude!"

"No..."

"Yes!" Lucy yelled while pointing a finger towards him on the ground "He's right, they all are and you know it!"

"Please Lucy don't..." he said in a fragile and pained tone.

"But it's your fault! You caused so much suffering in the guild! I don't even want to explain all the stuff you made me go through, but that's okay because you can feel it can't you? In your heart, that we are telling the truth"

"... no..."

"Yes... see? You can't even acknowledge your own feelings. I guess that's one of the mayor things I hate about you" she sighed before closing her eyes for a second "so yeah... I have to agree and say that you deserve solitude"

"You can't..." Natsu tried reaching his hand towards her "You're not her... you can't be..."

"I don't care what you think. I don't want you, I don't need you. I have someone else who deserves me and that's all you need to know" she snarled before turning her head towards Gray "Let's go"

"Yes, there's no need to look at this pile of shit any longer" the black haired boy said smugly before grabbing Lucy's hand and placing a gentle kiss on it "Besides we have better things to do don't we?"

"Stop it" she giggled with blushing cheeks "But yeah you're right, let's go"

"No... no... stop..." Natsu tried appealing as he watched them fade away leaving nothing but the darkness surrounding him.

"You're wrong... it wasn't my fault..." he could feel how his feelings was clawing inside of him scratching everything into pieces. _It hurt..._ it felt like someone or something was clenching his entrails making him heave for air "... it wasn't... was it?" His voice cracked as he grabbed his head with both hands "No... it wasn't... why?"

Tears started streaming down his face as he started hyperventilating, rocking back and forwards in a crouched position trying to soothe himself.

"... not solitude... not again..."

His mind was blurry from all of the thoughts and emotions trying to overwhelm him. He was so confused with everything that he couldn't pinpoint what he should focus on and it made it even more aggravating, because all of his emotions was scratching like sharp knives inside his stomach, trying to make themselves the most dominant thought. It was like having a bundle of people inside of him screaming, clawing and eating him from the inside, trying to destroy everything it reached.

_Need to... calm down... _he thought between breaths but it was a futile effort. This was a battle he couldn't win because he had already lost with a huge defeat.

"I'm so sorry..., I'm so sorry" he started chanting in a broken voice trying to focus on some of his inner voices and emotions, but it was so chaotic that it left him more confused.

"I'm sorry.. please... don't leave me..."

The images bombarding his mind made him scream in terror and pain. It was so confusing... painful... _why? WHY?! Was he so insignificant? Was he so unreliable?_

Natsu screamed. He screamed from all of the built up emotions inside of him, trying to let some of his pain go away. Trying to make his agony vanish with the sound of his voice.

At some point he had to stop screaming as he felt blood rushing to his throat from his internal wounds, making him cough it up violently.

_Yes... _he thought when he stopped coughing. _There's something to it isn't there... it isn't a lie... why else would they leave... go... alone... again... _closing his eyes he wanted nothing more than to vanish from the surface of the earth and for the moment his wish was granted as sleep overwhelmed him making him fall deeper inside of his mind to a place covered in darkness.

* * *

They were all standing around him in a circle staring down at him. _Where was this? Why was he laying on his back?_

"What's going on..." Natsu whispered as he looked at their blank stares glaring as if they were staring inside themselves rather than him "Tell me..." he tried moving but his muscles wouldn't respond leaving him immobile on the ground.

They didn't do anything, they just kept staring at him in silence and to be honest it kind of freaked him out.

"Lucy, Gray, Erza, Happy please say something..."

Their eyes started to glow in a yellowish colour as their bodies suddenly started trembling and becoming more blurry. For some reason the eyes was the only thing still being perfectly clear as their bodies seemed to fuse with each other until it was a wavering blob.

A chill went down Natsu's spine as he watched the thing starting to take a different form that somehow resembled a dragon. _No, a hydra,_ he thought with eyes widening in horror as he watched four heads growling right above him.

One of the heads started chuckling before roaring in a dark voice "For the fishes!" as it launched itself towards him, sinking large teeth into his legs.

The pains was intense making him scream in pain. His vision became blurry but he could still hear as one of the other heads yelled "For being naked!" before an even more intense pain shot through his left arm indicating that the thing was chewing on it.

Natsu could feel the air getting caught in his throat for a second, before he started screaming once more, not noticing the tears flowing down his face, because of the pain.

"For the sword!" he heard the sentence booming in the distance before he felt teeth gnaw into the flesh in his right arm, making his voice crack at the sudden impact.

The pain was so agonising that he didn't notice the last head swaying lazily over his head looking down at him like he was a delicious steak. Suddenly it stopped moving and started humming some weird song.

This seemed to catch Natsu's attention as he glared up at the head that was starting to glow until it suddenly exploded in a bunch of bright colours, somehow making the hydra vanish replacing everything around him with a glittering and beautiful atmosphere. For some reason it felt like his entire body was swimming in warm but light liquid making his skin prickle with an almost pleasant feeling.

"You're almost there..." a voice lulled but Natsu didn't recognise it. Actually it almost sounded like it was a mix of voices combined into one "... select your reward"

The temperature in the atmosphere started getting warmer, making him sweat profoundly, until he was covered in a weird sticky substance.

"Select your reward..." The unknown voice said once more, as a rainbow suddenly appeared above his head "... don't hesitate" as the sentence was uttered Natsu noticed that golden things started raining down from above him, hitting the ground with weird almost splashing like sounds.

Confused the dragon slayer looked down and noticed that the golden things was... _fish? _That was trying their best to swim on the ground.

"CHOOSE! NOW!" the voice yelled making him confused for a second as everything around him seemed to shake. Before he knew what was going on, water started rising from the ground, making the fish swim around lazily.

_Wait... _he thought as the water kept rising. _The water will be suffocating..._ a involuntary chill went through his body as he watched the fish elegantly jump out of the water, shining like droplets of gold all around him. _Stop... _he thought as the water reached his neck.

For some reason something inside of him ignited making him grab one of the fish as it jumped through the sky. He didn't know why he did it, but for some reason the water stopped rising as he snatched the fish.

Confused he glared at the fish in his hand for a few seconds. It was so pretty and for some reason the golden colour reminded him of Lucy... _Her hair... It's the same colour when the sunlight is reflected in it… sparkling like golden threads... so pretty..._

The fish was sparkling and for some reason it's tail started growing into an unnatural size making him blink in confusion. When it stopped growing it started wiggling almost violently but for some reason Natsu didn't want to let go of it.

"Why isn't there any pink in the rainbow?" The fish suddenly said making him jump in surprise "It should be up there with all the other colours. Won't it be alone looking at all the others up there. Are you lonely? Dad? Have you ever been lonely? I'm scared... I Don't ever want to be alone again"

Natsu flinched as he recalled himself saying something similar to Igneel when he was a small child.

"Are you?" The fish questioned again before it suddenly lashed its giant tail against Natsu knocking him to the ground making his entire body ache painfully, as everything around him suddenly vanished.

* * *

Natsu was heavily breathing laying on his back, when he opened his eyes. _A dream?_ He wondered while igniting one of his hands. _Doesn't matter... have to keep moving..._

Struggling against his own body he tried getting into a standing position while ignoring the pain rushing through him from the multiple wounds he had received.

"Tsch..." he spat while igniting his hands, trying to take a few steps, but because of the poison or whatever it was, his surroundings was blurry and twisted. It almost felt like he had a massive hangover, but with some additional and rather inconvenient side effects.

"Natsu?"

_Who was that?_

"Run! It's coming!"

_What was coming? Who?_ He wondered as he felt something cold breathing against his neck in an even rhythm.

"Get the fuck away from me!" he roared while trying to turn around to face his opponent.

But he couldn't see anything and for some reason the thing kept breathing right behind him from a spot he couldn't see.

"Run you idiot!" You'll die!"

_Who the heck was that?_ Natsu felt slightly paranoid as he staggered for a few seconds before trying to walk in an even line.

_It's coming can't you feel it... this is how it feels like, when death is breathing down your neck..._

"No..."

_You lost so much blood already, your stamina is low..._

"... stop it.." he whispered while trying to walk even.

_Your spirit is broken..._

"... please" his voice cracked as his knees suddenly buckled making him fall to the ground on his hands and knees.

_But you can't stop now..._

"... I have to keep moving" Natsu finished the sentence while yet again trying to stand. It was getting harder and harder just moving, but for some reason he kept rising when he fell.

"This way, hurry!" The unknown voice said and for some reason Natsu couldn't prevent himself from following it.

"You're almost there... you can do this"

_Who was that? _It sounded familiar somehow. _Did it matter?_ His head was spinning and felt numb making it almost impossible to think straight.

"You can feel me scratching... I'm right here, behind you, underneath you, but also inside you"

For some reason the voice was clear to him, as if it was someone who was standing in his mind broadcasting messages. Well maybe it was himself he didn't know. He didn't care either but if it was it might be a clear indication that he was truly losing the last pieces of his sanity. The thought made him chuckle.

"No one will see you... look"

"What?" Natsu questioned before staring in front of him, noticing that he was standing rather close to the edge of what looked like a cliff leading down even further into the cave. He couldn't see where it might end but then again his senses was confused at the moment. _Yeah right it's fucking pitch black down there... the bottom is further down... much further down beyond eyesight..._

"Do it..." the voice was calm and almost soothing.

"No..." He fell to his knees staring into the darkness below him.

"Yes... it's time... remember you're alone"

"I know..." his voice broke as a wave of painful emotions seemed to overwhelm his body making it hard to breathe.

_Nobody can hear you... Nobody can save you... Nobody... cares..._

"Solitude..." his voice was husky from the melancholic feeling that somehow seemed to steal his voice, making it ravage unpleasantly inside of him. Actually it felt like a hand was trying to clench his stomach to pieces, making it harder to breathe every time it squeezed it.

"If she wanted to leave would you let her?"

The question made him shiver uncomfortably as he extinguished the fire in his hands before grabbing his head, holding it firmly.

"Yes..." Natsu whispered but he knew it was a lie. He couldn't imagine life without her but he didn't want to pressure her. She wasn't his toy, she had her own mind and freedom to do as she pleased.

"What if she choose another man?" the voice said teasingly.

An image of Lucy inviting Gray into her bed momentarily flashed inside of his head.

"I don't care..." he tried denying but his feelings was clearly against the proposition of Lucy being with anyone. _But why? Why did it fucking hurt thinking about it? Was he that selfish?_

Natsu didn't notice he was hyperventilating nor that he was rocking back and forth trying somehow to soothe himself.

"I can't... it hurts too much..." the emotions inside of him seemed to swallow everything making him twitch and shake from the tension. _Unbearable..._ tears started streaming down his face _...can't.. go on like this..._

"Look... hope..."

Still hyperventilating Natsu looked as a golden fish suddenly spawned down in the darkness, glistening and luring with the false pretence of relief.

"Why is it false?" the voice purred.

"I don't know... I don't know anything any more... why?" His voice was tiny and fragile, as he stared at the fish trying to catch his breath "Is this... a dream?"

"You could say that... now come. Join me... Join Lucy..."

The sound of her name was the final drop that made everything inside of him crack into a million pieces. He stopped breathing, as he got into a standing position fluently. Natsu couldn't feel his physical body anymore so he didn't react to the pain the movements caused him. He couldn't even feel himself mentally either. He was just a shell, empty staring blankly down at the fish.

"This is it... come... be consumed and forget everything"

Natsu's head was blank when his body suddenly started leaning forwards. It wasn't because he wanted to take the fall, it wasn't something he suddenly decided to do, but something unexplainable was reaching out to him. Maybe it was the pretence of false hope luring in the shape of a fish in the darkness. Natsu didn't know, he couldn't think and he didn't care. Nothing really mattered any more. Closing his eyes he felt how his body started falling towards the unknown...

* * *

**A/N:** And yes Natsu is talking to himself – your own mind can be treacherous...

So in this chapter I was wondering what Natsu's greatest fear might be (besides his friends dying a horrible death) and I think it might be solitude. I mean it seems logical after Igneel left that the one thing he never wants to endure again is being alone. Seriously I think that's one of the reasons he's always so flamboyant because he needs attention. I actually thought about making this duality of his personality (not as a separate person) into a fanfiction. It's in my scrapbook for future stories I would like to type... eventually.. perhaps...

If you want to know why Erza isn't there in chapter 9, it's because she wasn't in Magnolia when the creature was stalking Lucy. So it doesn't know that much about her. In this chapter it's Natsu's own mind creating illusions.

Random fact: The dream was actually much more morbid where I actually killed Natsu (quoting my boyfriend: "this is morbid!"). So I reconsidered it and made a new dream. Besides I thought this story needed something fresh. Something you wouldn't expect happening.


	11. Past Revealed

**A/N: **Time to get serious! :)

To guest: Bwahaha, yeah I'm quite devious ;)

Thanks I really appreciate that you like the shifts between places and characters, because it does give some variation (as you mentioned yourself) plus it adds some vital information to the plot.

I don't think it'll draw out though because things: "are gonna go doooooown!" In more ways than one, but you'll see that soon.

About the consistent updates: thanks again, I try writing ahead so I can publish chapters regularly :)

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Past Revealed**

Lucy felt slightly uncomfortable as the carriage containing herself, Gray, Happy and Erza started moving. Erza had been furious at first when she learned about Natsu's disappearance demanding to know why she hadn't been informed sooner. Well Lucy could relate to that because she would be furious too, if she had been in the same situation.

Fortunately Erza calmed down eventually and after a few minutes of planning they suddenly found themselves travelling out of Magnolia.

"So let me get this straight" the scarlet haired woman exhaled, calming her anger before glaring at Lucy "Approximately 14 days have passed since you last saw Natsu?"

"Yes, Happy saw him at the inn presumably looking for me after reading a note he thought I left for him"

"And you didn't create such a note?"

"No, I wanted to be alone and buy some books after we finished our mission"

"I see" Erza muttered while placing her index finger underneath her chin "What was your mission exactly?"

"Well it was quite simple. The mayor in this town told us they had some trouble with a guy called Butter Boyd who was selling fruits he got illegally"

"Illegally?" Erza questioned.

"Yes, even though the mayor couldn't get solid evidence, he knew for certain that Butter Boyd was importing fruit across the border disguising it somehow to prevent paying taxes. Because of that he could sell the fruit cheaper than the other merchants and eventually he was the sole ruler of the market, because the minor merchants got bankrupted"

"Forbidden fruit, huh?" the red haired woman smirked.

"You could say that. But things eventually got messy with him controlling the market like that, making a lot of peasants miserable. So our mission was to find solid evidence against him, so the mayor could imprison or banish him for good. With that said, we were sneaking inside of his building one night, trying to find some evidence but unfortunately we were caught by surprise when Butter Boyd was on his way to the bathroom"

"He was only wearing his trousers" the cat giggled "They had lemons on them"

"Yeah, that was... weird" Lucy shivered at the mental image spawning "But after that things got messy. Natsu and Butter Boyd started insulting each other and of course it ended with them having a full blown fight"

"I think I know what happened next..." Erza sighed.

"Yeah, as the fight escalated they somehow managed to destroy the entire building including his entire stock of fruit. Once the fight stopped they realised the extent of the damage and Natsu was... well you know him. But Butter Boyd was practically frozen stiff as if he was scared of something, while staring at the ruins of his building. After that he ran away, practically vanishing and leaving us puzzled"

"Hmm... what did the mayor say?"

"He was thrilled because even though we didn't get solid evidence, we managed to make the guy flee and thereby restore balance somehow. The mayor was so pleased that he invited us to have a huge dinner with him. Of course we participated in that for a few hours until we eventually went our separate ways"

"You wanted to buy books, correct?"

"Yes, Natsu wanted to look for more food and Happy wanted to take a nap so we agreed to meet at the inn when we were done shopping. I followed Happy back to there, because I left my purse in our room"

"I feel asleep right away so I thought Lucy made the note before shopping" the cat sulked "I should have known it wasn't from her"

"You couldn't have known Happy. Even Natsu thought it was from me if that makes you feel better" Lucy smiled gently while patting Happy on his head.

"... aye..." Happy said in a unenthusiastic voice.

"Then what happened?" Erza questioned watching the cat sulk in misery.

"I got back to the inn where Happy was playing with a bucket that used to contain fried chicken. Happy seemed confused at first but then he was all giddy and asked me if I had a fight with Natsu. This confused me so I asked why I would have a fight with him"

"Then I asked her if she didn't leave a note telling Natsu to meet her, but Lucy said she didn't" the cat said while glaring at Erza with small tears glistening in the corner of his eyes.

"We started searching for Natsu but we couldn't find him anywhere. We asked some villagers but most people told us they hadn't seen him. Others seemed to evade us for some bizarre reason and a few peasants told us that they saw Natsu leaving the town. After that we stayed at the inn for a few nights searching everywhere, but eventually we had to return to the guild to inform everyone of what had happened"

"I see..." Erza said stoically "Once we reach the town I suggest we split up. There has to be something they are not telling us and there has to be some weak link somewhere just waiting to be interrogated" her eyes flashed with anger making Happy, Lucy and Gray shiver involuntarily.

Taking a deep breath Gray looked around the carriage before resting his head on his hand "You know, I never thought I would say this, but I somehow miss the idiot complaining about being sick"

"Yeah..." Erza agreed while staring into the distance.

Lucy clenched her teeth firmly against each other as she felt a sudden pain clenching inside of her chest, making her heart beat uncomfortably. They would find him, they had too. She needed him and his absence made her realise just how vital a part of her life he was. Well ever since she met him the first time, he had changed her fate making her life so much better. He was the reason she had so many new friends, and even though that was more than enough for her to feel grateful towards the dragon slayer, she was beyond happy for all the new experiences they shared together. All of those moments were precious to her and she wanted desperately to create more with him. Well not just him but with all of their friends as well.

Lucy needed him back because he was everything to her. He was such a vital part of her life now, that she couldn't even imagine a world without him. She loved him deeply and why wouldn't she? He was her best friend! And he knew that, right? Didn't she show that to him through the things they did together? After all Natsu was the sort of person who wanted to live in the here and now, feeling things and doing stuff rather than talking about it like they do in a silly novel.

Which was totally fine with her! Really, she didn't need to know how he felt about her. Right?

Lucy exhaled in frustration before narrowing her eyes and glaring towards the distance. They would arrive at the town soon and when they did, they would find some answers. No matter what, they would definitely find him!

* * *

Lucy was scratching her head in frustration after coming to yet another dead end. It was so annoying that whenever she thought someone might know something, they would just ignore her or try talking about something else. Heck, she event tried using force when she was certain someone knew something, but somehow the person in question always found a very sneaky way to avoid her.

"Moohh!" she complained while rubbing the bridge of her nose "this is so annoying"

Lucy started walking when she noticed someone calling her name.

"Yes?" turning around she tried finding the owner of the voice "Who's calling?"

Maybe she misheard the person or perhaps there was another one called Lucy in this town? Shrugging Lucy continued down the street when she heard someone calling again. This time the voice was more clear and for some reason it seemed familiar. _Really familiar actually..._

"Who...?" whispering she started searching her surroundings to find the person calling. Her eyes stopped their search when she spotted a person standing in a dark alley. The person was barely visible but she could somehow make out the person's frame from the distance.

_Could this be the person calling out to her? _She wondered, while walking towards the alley. Well even if it wasn't, this person might know something valuable?

"Oy! You in the alley. Can I ask you a few questions?"

The person didn't respond and when she got closer, she noticed that the person was covering his face with both hands as if he was crying.

"Ohh sorry I didn't mean to bother..." her eyes widened as the person's frame became more visible. His height, physique, the spiky hair. Even though the majority of him was covered in the shadows of the alley, he looked almost identical to Natsu. _But it couldn't be? _The air got caught in her throat for a second, before she started sprinting towards the alley. _Please, let this be him,_ she prayed stopping in her track, when there was only a few feet between them.

"Nat...su?" She reached a hand towards the person who hadn't moved an inch. _Why... why didn't he move?_

"Are... are you okay?" Lucy asked and watched as the person in front of her started shaking, as if he was crying. _This couldn't be him... he would have said something by now._ Her stomach twisted uncomfortably inside of her chest as she looked down at her shoes, unsure of what to do next.

"I'm sorry... it's just you look like someone I know... If it's my fault you're crying, then I'm sorry..."

Lucy was startled as the person started laughing hysterically, still holding his hands above his eyes.

"You're sorry?!" The person chuckled "Are you for real?! You actually feel sorry... for me?!"

"Uhm..." confused she blinked a few times "Well yeah... if I somehow made you cry, then of course I'm sorry"

"Ohh dear..." he stopped laughing "It's been ages since someone felt anything other than hate towards me. This is... awkward... and weird... yuck"

"How can you say that? I'm sure there's someone out there who cares..."

"Noooo, no no! Everyone hates me"

"Well I..."

"Stop! Don't lie! You hate me too"

"What? No I don't, I don't even know you?"

"No, I guess you're right" the person started chuckling before peeking through his fingers "but you will eventually"

Lucy froze as she stared into his eyes that was glistening red with something ominous and lethal, waking her primal fears.

"I..." a thin layer of sweat suddenly spawned, making her shiver involuntarily "I... no..."

"Oh yes!" he snickered before grabbing her wrist, dragging her further into the alley.

"No, stop!" she screamed but her efforts were futile as the person started running making them surrounded completely by the shadows, making it hard to see anything. As if the darkness wasn't bad enough, there was this nasty smell coming from somewhere. It smelled a lot like rotten flesh and something else... Something more sinister and evil, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Hold on for a second, jeez!" the person complained as Lucy kept struggling against him "This serves a point you know. Look! There's a lamp. I need to show you... yes... you'll see"

"I don't want to see! Let me go!" Lucy yelled but she stopped resisting once they were both standing under the lamp, bathed in the light coming from above.

Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the sight. She was so consumed that she didn't notice the person letting go of her wrist. This was too weird and macabre for her. The person in front of her looked so much like Natsu that it hurt. But then again it was plainly clear it wasn't him. His physique was practically identical with Natsu, but the colours were different. Besides he was having rather large wounds covering his body and in some places the meat had fallen off or was rotting.

"Yeah, yeah I know I'm not an exact copy. The hair colour is off. My skin is weird... bla, bla..." the copy of Natsu said while rolling his eyes in annoyance "... for some reason I can't impersonate male characters that well. Females however... now that's a completely different story! Hmm.. I do slip up sometimes when I get too eager though..."

"Who are you?! Where is the real Natsu?!" Lucy shouted as she grabbed her keys prepared to summon her spirits.

"He's in my cave at the moment. It's not that far away from this town, you just have to follow the road that leads in the northern direction and you'll reach it eventually"

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"You don't. But to be honest I've had enough with this Natsu person. He is... mmm... how do I put this delicately. Broken... yeah basically that's it. I don't like playing with broken toys"

"What do you mean broken?" Lucy dreaded the answer but she had to know.

"In every sense my dear. Physically and mentally. He's nothing but a pulp by now. Actually he might be less than that. He was rather... mmm... conflicted the last time I saw him, so who knows? Maybe he's..." he grabbed his neck to simulate himself being strangled "...you know, taken the ticket to the next level"

"No! You're lying" she growled trying to convince herself that Natsu was fine.

"Hmm?" he blinked in confusion a few times before tilting his head "What would I gain by lying about his condition? But hey suit yourself. I'm just saying what I know and perhaps, just perhaps, this might be crucial for you to know, because you might find him in a situation where he needs healing. I mean serious healing... that is if he's still alive"

"No..." she whispered while watching him step into the shadows.

"As I said do with the information as you like. Remember it's the road leading in the northern direction. You can't miss it" he said while grinning wickedly revealing his sharp canines "But I suggest you hurry... tic-toc. Ohhh before I leave I guess you would want this back"

Lucy's eyes widened when she saw her whip landing on ground. She only diverted her attention for a second but it was enough time for the copy of Natsu to disappear.

Gulping Lucy scanned around her and when she was sure the person wasn't there any more she reached down grabbing her whip with shaking hands. It was painfully clear it had some dried blood on it and she dreaded whose blood it was. Not that it truly mattered at the moment. _No..._ Lucy searched her surroundings once more before leaping out of the alley. She had to find the others and let them know what had happened.

Fear and hope rushed through her, making the adrenaline pump into every cell of her body, making it easy to sprint quickly out on the streets. They would find him and they would make it in time. _If he... _she shook her head, trying to erase that thought. _He couldn't, he wouldn't..._

"Gray, Erza, Happy!" She yelled from the bottom of her lungs, while running as if death itself was just a step behind her, waiting to snatch her away if she stopped.

* * *

It didn't take long for Lucy to find everyone and after she had explained her encounter, they started their journey towards the cave.

"Hmm" Erza muttered before continuing "you're right, it is not necessarily the truth that the creature told you. However I think the part about him being in the cave is correct. I had a... nice..." her eyes seemed to sparkle for a second "...conversation with some people who told me they had to throw Natsu into the cave because they had to punish him"

"But why?" Lucy questioned.

"I'll get to that in a second. Happy?" Erza turned to face the cat.

"Aye!"

"We do not know whether or not the thing was telling the truth about Natsu's condition. But it's better taking precautions so I want you to search for a healer or a doctor. If there's no one in this town I want you to go back to the guild and bring Wendy. We will meet at the entrance to the cave. Understood?"

"Aye!" Happy instantly spawned his wings flying away in determination to full fill his task.

"We should head out as well. It seems time is of the essence" Erza started walking with Gray and Lucy following close behind.

"Erza? Was there something more valuable than fruits in that place Natsu destroyed?" Gray questioned before continuing "I mean it seems kinda harsh to punish him for doing that. Don't get me wrong I would want to punch him too if it was me, but it's fairly easy to get new supplies and if the person wanted to, he could just demand Natsu paid for it and also repaired his house"

"Yes, there was. The fruit business was just a façade to import different illegal stuff. Their primary focus was items used to perform dark magic" Erza sighed heavily "And since Natsu destroyed all of it, it would seem that Butter Boyd lost a lot of money. Or all of it, but that doesn't matter. The main problem is he wanted revenge"

"I see... moohh, this is why you shouldn't be so reckless Natsu!" Lucy complained "But why a cave?"

"It would seem that this Butter Boyd has some sort of arrangement with someone who lives in there. He provides human sacrifices, for lack of a better word, and the person in the cave takes care of them"

"Takes care of them?" Gray asked dreading the answer.

"Evidently there's only been a few people who entered the cave who made it out alive. But those who made it out... well they had lost their sanity so..."

"... so even if they made it out they would be unreliable witnesses against him" Lucy finished her sentence shaking involuntarily from anxiety before staring at the others with determination shining in her eyes "We have to go, right now!" She started running following the road leading in the northern direction. It didn't take more than a second before the others started running as well.

They didn't know what they would find, but they would definitely save him!

* * *

Natsu could feel his body falling for what seemed like forever, but in reality it only lasted for a couple of seconds. _Where was this again? Why was he so pathetic? This wasn't like him... Lucy..._

A million thoughts seemed to bombard his mind at the same time, making him roar in frustration trying to remove the tension rummaging inside of his mind.

_Why, _he managed to question himself one more time before he felt his body colliding with the ground. It hurt like fucking hell and he could hear the nauseating sound of the bones in his left arm cracking and splintering into pieces.

_Why,_ he blinked a few times trying to stay awake, ignoring how heavy his eyelids felt and the uncomfortable pressure that was somehow restraining his body, making every muscle in his body ache as if he had been running for an eternity. He wanted to prevent his consciousness from fainting, but it was hard. _So fucking hard..._

For some reason he was shivering. _He felt... cold..._ both physically and mentally... and for some reason it didn't seem to hurt that much any more...

_No... _he thought while inching into a foetal position, clenching his teeth and feeling how hot tears streamed down his face. Not that he cared. Nothing seemed to matter any more.

Closing his eyes he submitted to the darkness, falling deeper into himself.

* * *

**A/N:** Butter Boyd! I love that name for some bizarre reason XD

I actually wanted Natsu to fall for a longer time and struggling with his thoughts, but then I thought: "hmm if he falls for a long time, he would have to fall from a rather large height. I mean a height where he would be killed when he hit the ground... because gravity and the laws of physics...".

But then again I think it works with the current length, because we've already seen how he struggles in the earlier chapters.

The next chapter should be up soon (if I keep eating sugar and drinking coffee – yay for hyperactivity and typing!)

Until next time, y'all have a nice weekend :)

/Hejmdal


	12. Wounded Dragon

**A/N: **I feel like a bad person saying this but... this chapter... it's so freaking yummy I could eat it raw! So is the other few chapters I have planned "Waaaaaahhh!" *throws her hands into the air and starts running around like a hyperactive kid who had too much sugar*

… ahem... Anyhow! Onwards! Alons-y!

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Wounded Dragon**

Lucy yelped as she stumbled yet again across some of the loose rocks that was shattered all over the place. Fortunately Gray caught her shirt just in time preventing her from falling flat on her face.

"Thanks Gray"

"No problem. But you should try calming down a bit. You have to stay focused and watch where you're going"

She sighed "yeah I know. It's just hard being level headed"

"I know but given the circumstances we can't run around recklessly. Cave's like these can be treacherous and it doesn't help that it's so fucking dark down here, that it's hard seeing anything even with these torches"

"Yeah..."

They kept walking in silence while occasionally calling for Natsu, hoping he would respond to them. But unfortunately it didn't seem to have any effect other than their own voices echoing back to them. From time to time they would stop to make a mark with some chalk so it would be easier for them to find their direction back. Lucy did consider summoning her compass spirit Pyxis, but she didn't think it would do much good down here.

Lucy felt they had been going around in circles when she spotted light further ahead coming from an opening in the cave wall.

"Gray"

"Yeah" he nodded while clenching his fist prepared to make a counter attack, just in case a villain or something else hostile was in there. Lucy followed his actions and brought her own hand to her keys. Ready to summon a spirit if she needed to. When they reached the opening they took a second to listen to hear if there was anyone or anything in there. But after listening to the silence for a few seconds Gray quickly nodded towards Lucy before taking a quick peek into the opening.

"Damn..." his jaw fell in surprise as he walked into the room filled with light.

"What..?" Lucy questioned while following close behind him "... Gray what is it?" she turned her attention to her surroundings, freezing in her position with eyes widening in horror. The chains on the cave wall was covered in blood, so was the ground underneath them where a rather ominous amount was splattered.

"Oh no..." she whispered in a broken and fragile voice while taking a few steps towards the chains "... Natsu".

Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as a wave of melancholy rushed through her body. She was visibly shaking trying to settle her emotions and stay focused. But the closer she got to the blood the more it hurt inside of her, making it difficult to breathe.

"Lucy stop..." Gray tried appealing to her but she didn't listen and kept walking until she reached the chains

"... please Lucy, you're only making it worse for yourself. We should keep moving"

"I know..." she whispered, glaring at the blood on the ground. A lot of unpleasant images rushed through her head, as she reached a shaking hand towards the heavy chains and the handcuffs attached to them. She could see cracks on the cave wall where the chains was fastened, indicating that the person who had been in them had struggled against the confinement.

Lucy held her breath trying her best not to cry or let the pain inside of her overwhelm her rationality. It would be selfish of her because she knew her emotions were insignificant compared to finding Natsu.

"Come on" Gray said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder "We don't know for sure if this is Natsu's blood but if it is..." he couldn't finish the sentence but Lucy nodded knowing what he was about to say.

"We had fun in here" a voice suddenly said, making them turn instantaneously on their feet.

"You!" Lucy growled as she reached for her keys "Where is he?" her voice was steady as a rock as she glared towards the green haired boy.

"Who are you?" Gray snarled as he brought his hands together ready to form an attack if he had too.

"Hey! Take it easy!" the boy who looked almost identical to Natsu said, while waving his hands frantically in front of him "I'm here to help you"

"Help us?!" Lucy roared "If you want to help us, then tell us where he is?!"

"My, my, you're pretty angry considering I was the one who told you he was in my cave. Ohhh well..." he tilted his head "... hmm... would you even believe me if I told you where he is?"

"Maybe, maybe not it depends on your answer. Now spill it or we will use force against you!" her eyes was shining with anger as she raised one of her keys, pointing it directly towards him.

"Fine" the copy snapped his finger and suddenly a round shadow spawned next to them. In an instant the shadow shot towards the fake Natsu, surrounding his body completely. A second later his body started trembling before transforming, taking the shape as a tiny black rabbit.

"Phew!" the rabbit exhaled, glaring with his red eyes towards Lucy and Gray "What?"

"What the fuck?! How is this supposed to help us?!" Gray roared making the rabbit bounce backwards and away from them.

"Oy! I'm doing this as a fucking favour to you" it said making Gray twitch uncomfortably "In this shape it's rather obvious that I can't do much harm to you isn't it? Now follow me... idiot" It grumbled as it hopped towards the entrance.

"Should we follow it?" Gray asked in a serious tone as he turned his head towards Lucy.

"Do we have any other options?"

"Yes... but it's probably better taking the chance and hope he leads us in the right direction isn't it? But if it tries anything funny be prepared to use full force on him"

"Mmm" Lucy agreed, holding her keys firmly in her hand.

They kept following the bunny for what felt like forever, when they reached something that looked like a cliff. The bunny stopped at the edge, glaring down in the darkness below.

"... foolish boy..." the rabbit muttered while shaking it's head "... we're almost there" it bounced further ahead making them follow a rather steep road. When the road seemed to become more even the bunny stopped for a second, turning around to face them "I'm sorry..." it said in a faint voice before sprinting away from them.

"Wait! Stop!" Lucy yelled as she followed the rabbit until they reached a dead, where the black creature bounced across a rather huge rock on the ground, diving into the shadow of the cave wall and vanishing.

"Damn it!" She roared, staring with murderous intentions at the spot the bunny had vanished.

"Well thanks for fucking shit!" Gray cursed while clenching his fist in anger.

"Wait..." Lucy held her torch in front of her as she looked more closely at the large rock "Blood... it's fresh..." she turned around on her heels noticing more blood on the ground. Taking a few steps she followed the blood until she saw a silhouette of something further away in the distance. It didn't take many seconds for her to recognize what it was making her eyes widen in shock.

"Natsu..." she yelled, sprinting towards the dragon slayer. His back was turned against them but she immediately knew it was him.

_So much blood,_ she thought frantically while looking at the blood covering a large part of his body. _But... where is his shirt? Wait, that doesn't matter! _Shaking her head at the irrational thought she knelt down beside Natsu, grabbing his shoulder.

"Natsu?" she started shaking him gently "Natsu?".

* * *

Natsu was so confused, laying in a foetal position with closed eyes wanting nothing more than to escape from his current situation. Both his body and mind was shattered making it hard to focus on a single thought. It was all so blurry and confusing, like his head was a mixture of watery substances, flowing freely and everywhere with no direction or purpose.

All of his body besides his left arm felt numb and cold. His arm was... well uncomfortable and weird. It almost felt as if his left arm had vanished underneath him, like it was a part of him that didn't exist any more. He tried moving it slightly but it was no use. The bones was too broken and shattered to move even an inch.

Not that it mattered... _If only_... he wanted to believe it was all a dream or an illusion. But then again did it truly matter if it was reality or not?

Natsu didn't notice that tears was streaming down his face, nor did he recognise the small sobs he was making, indicating he was silently crying. Well it was hard focusing on something so insignificant because it was rather hard just continuing to breathe in an even rhythm. The dragon slayer was oblivious to the fact that the fall had caused him to break a few ribs, which had punctuated one of his lunges, thereby making it hard to breathe.

He was heaving for air and could feel how blood entered his punctuated lunge, making him cough violently trying to prevent himself from drowning in his own blood. Normally it would probably hurt like hell, but he didn't feel it as he kept coughing until the blood from his lunge was spattered on the ground. Once the blood irritating his lunge was gone, it became slightly easier to breathe.

_Why? _Natsu thought as he felt sleep trying to overwhelm him, making him doze off for what he felt like a few seconds, but in reality could have been hours or even days. He couldn't know for sure...

_What was that?_ He wondered as he heard some weird noises approaching. It almost sounded like someone was calling? _But it couldn't be... no..._ there wasn't anyone there besides him and the creature thingy. Maybe it was himself being delusional and sadistic, creating voices to keep him comfortable?

_Mehh, it's all too blurry, _he thought as he tried hugging himself with his right arm,

crawling deeper into his foetal position.

_Shut up... _he thought as the voices seemed to intensify in strength trying to snatch him away from the bubble inside of his head... _want to be alone... no... not alone..._

Natsu could feel something warm being placed on his shoulder, that started shaking him gently. _Why... _he bit his lips trying to isolate himself further from his surroundings. … _Go away! _Why couldn't he have some peace and be left alone? Wait... he didn't want to be alone... What are the voices trying to say?

His mind was cracking and stirring making a million thoughts spawn as his experiences from the past seemed to overwhelm him, making him even more confused. Well to be fair the poison didn't help the confusion raging inside of him. No, it made it even more turbulent adding some sinister feelings and unpleasant thoughts.

Something started shaking him again but he ignored it until he felt something wet suddenly

hitting his face. _What was that? It smelled salty?_

Slowly Natsu turned his face staring up at what he presumed would be thin air, but to his surprise Lucy was there with a hand gently placed on his shoulder.

He was so stunned that he just stared at her in confusion.

_Why? Why was she crying? Why was she smiling so gently at him while holding onto his shoulder like she cared about him? Why?_

Natsu wanted desperately to see his friends but this was just beyond cruel. His heart was aching painfully as if some unknown force was squeezing it, trying to kill him from the inside.

Yes of course he wanted so badly to believe that this was reality. He missed them but why would Lucy be there? Shouldn't she be back at the guild? Or was she dead already? No, what was that again? She wasn't dead... or was she? Why was it so confusing!

His body started trembling as small tears started spawning in the corner of his eyes. Well maybe he was dead? Was this the afterlife or an illusion?

Natsu suddenly noticed something moving in the background behind Lucy and everything seemed to freeze for a second. _What was that?_ His eyes widened as he stared at another person standing behind Lucy. _It looked like... Gray? No it couldn't be... could it?_ Gray was saying something he couldn't hear or make out while smirking towards him. _No..._ Natsu narrowed his eyes as he watched Gray casually place a hand on Lucy's shoulder. _It couldn't be... No... not again... never the fuck again..._

Anger started boiling inside of Natsu's body making energy rush through his system as adrenaline pumped through his veins rummaging like a thunderstorm.

Roaring in fury Natsu removed Lucy's hand on his shoulder rather violently before grabbing her neck with his right hand.

"Not the fuck again... never!" he narrowed his eyes while getting into a standing position, still holding Lucy's neck firmly in his hand.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Gray yelled as he grabbed Natsu's arm trying to prevent the dragon slayer from strangling Lucy.

"As I said..." Natsu growled in a sinister voice as he removed his hand from Lucy and in a quick movement hit Gray so hard in the stomach it made him fly for a few seconds before colliding with the cave wall, knocking the air out of his lunges "... I will NOT allow this to happen again".

"What the fuck... are you talking about?" the ice mage questioned as he tried getting into a standing position, but for some reason he couldn't move.

"Shhh..." something whispered behind Gray making him shiver involuntarily as he felt something cold being placed above his mouth "... let's watch the story unfold"

Gray tried to struggle but it was futile. The only thing he could do was watch as Natsu turned his attention back to Lucy, walking back to her with heavy steps.

"You..." Natsu's voice was dripping with so much anger and hatred that it made Lucy shiver as she tried calming him down with words. But he didn't listen, nor did he care what the thing had to say.

Well fortunately for him it was all so blurry that he couldn't understand a single thing the girl was trying to tell him.

"I hate you!" he growled before grabbing Lucy's neck again smashing her into the wall. It wasn't as hard as the hit he had delivered to Gray but it was enough to make the girl scream in pain and terror.

"Why? Why do you keep doing this? Do you really think I would be tricked so easily again? Are you that stupid that you would think you could make me fall for the same illusion?" he kept grabbing Lucy's neck but his hold on her seemed to lessen in strength making it possible for the girl to breathe. Not that Natsu noticed this he was so confused about everything, that he didn't pay attention to his hand.

"Did you really think I would... ever want to see that again..." his voice cracked in pain as tears started streaming down his face "... I will never... I never want to see her die again. I would rather die than go through that fucking torture again!"

Natsu was staring at his feet for a few seconds while taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm his emotions that was making his body tremble with anger and sorrow.

"Her blood was everywhere... but you know that... killing her so violently right in the fucking front of me, making her blood spatter on everything including me... I... the torture was horrible... I admit it... you doing that to me... hurt more than... I... I just... both of them died by my hands... so much blood..." he turned his face towards Lucy who was crying and trembling. The sight startled him and made him even more perplexed.

Why was she crying? Why didn't the shadow do something? Kill him? Kill her? This was so weird and morbid that he couldn't voice his own feelings.

"I can't..." Natsu said barely above a whisper before releasing Lucy making her fall to the ground where she sat struggling to breathe.

"I... can't do it..." he continued feeling his knees suddenly give up underneath him, making him fall to the ground. He grimaced in pain as he watched Lucy reaching her hand towards him saying something. She was smiling warmly and it made him somehow second guess his actions. _Why would she do that? Where was the killing, the torture, the manipulation? Why?_

The tension in his mind seemed to escalate making him roar in agony trying to ease his mind. But it didn't help, no on the contrary, he could feel how blood started once more irritating his lung making it difficult to breathe.

_No, _he thought as a fit of coughs washed over him making him bend his body forwards using his right hand to keep his balance. He kept being in that position struggling to remove the blood in his lung, while trying to get a sufficient amount of oxygen to enter his body.

Natsu didn't hear Lucy screaming his name. Heck, he almost didn't register when he stopped coughing and could breathe again. He did however recall his muscles suddenly becoming like jelly, making him lay down on the ground, where he turned his head slowly towards Lucy staring at her with pain reflecting in his eyes.

_This is cruel... but please... let it be her..._ he whispered her name before everything around him suddenly vanished covering his mind in black.

* * *

**A/N: **Bow tjikka wau wau! And there you have it!

Question time!

H: "So! You might wonder if the monster/villain suddenly became a good person"

Natsu: "Hell no! The creature just sympathised with me because I made the wrong choice"

H: "The choice you made in chapter 9, where you killed Gray and Lucy in an illusion?"

Natsu: "Ah-yup! I made a choice back then and the creature felt pity because..."

H: "Shh... spoilers"

Natsu: "Ohh.. but yeah basically the creature isn't good. Not in the normal sense anyway. It's more of a grey area, because it does whatever it wants not thinking about moral and stuff. So the reason it helps Lucy and Gray is because it doesn't want a broken toy.. and that would be me... laying around any more, since it can't use me... uhm... well for entertainment I guess"

H: "Okay, so the creature isn't good-good. Roger that! You guys out there I hope you have a good time, wherever you are! And because you're all so awesome and amazing, I hereby allow you to take whatever chocolate, candy or other treat you might have and munch it! You deserve it"

Natsu: "... sure give the readers treats. Hmpff... I somehow feel like neglected..."

H: "What did you say?"

Natsu: "Nothing! Until next time y'all! Bye-bye!"


	13. Lonely Battle

**A/N: **So! All the people hyping for the current manga arch, raise your hands in the aaaaair! Seriously I could squeal just thinking about it "Kyyyyaaaa!" XD

YumiChan: Aww thanks! I'm glad you like it :)

lovelylover: Hehe, lemons are good but there won't be anything too... uhm, you know... stuff like that in this story. Romance and some fluffy moments, yes, but not lemons as in "lemon-lemon".

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Lonely Battle**

Natsu could hear the faint sound of something beeping in an even rhythm. It was almost soothing because it was reliable. He needed... no, he craved something to hold onto even if it was something so insignificant as a sound.

While listening to the beeping noise he noticed that his body felt numb. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though. No, it felt like all of his muscles had been drugged with something. His head... actually felt fine even if his thoughts were somewhat puddled together into a gigantic blob, making it hard to hold onto any decent thoughts.

Natsu noticed that there was something warming his skin. It was rather comfortable making him more relaxed. _Wait... warm... where is this?_

He opened his eyes slightly but closed them again rather quickly, because the light was so bright it was blinding him. Grunting he narrowed his eyes trying once again to see his surroundings. It took a few minutes to adjust his eyes to the light, but when it did he was surprised to his core, to see that the sun was bathing him with its warmth. For some reason he felt like crying. The feeling was so overwhelming that he bit his lips as he kept staring out of the window.

It was a beautiful sight with a lot of buildings that was engulfed in sunlight. It looked so much like Magnolia but he didn't trust his own senses at the moment. _Why and how would he be there anyway? It was impossible..._

"Heeey you're awake?" a female voice said making Natsu flinch in surprise because he didn't hear her approaching "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you"

"Who..?" he turned his head and was surprised to see a young female nurse smiling at him.

"I'm Luna a nurse working at the Magnolia hospital. And as you might have guessed this is Magnolia Hospital"

"Ohh... how?" disbelief was gnawing inside of him but he managed to push that feeling aside, as he kept staring at the woman.

"Your friends brought you here a couple of days ago, mmm" she looked through some papers "eight days ago to be exact"

"Why?" he narrowed his eyes and watched the woman blink in confusion a few times before smiling brightly.

"Well you had some serious injuries that needed immediate attention. To be honest it was a really close call because you were more dead than alive when you came here" there was sadness shining in her eyes as she started fidgeting with a finger through her orange hair "Mmm, but fortunately we have some amazing people working here and we succeeded in saving your life. But it was a close call you know? Wait I said that already didn't I? What I meant to say was I'm truly glad you pulled through and survived your visible wounds"

The woman sighed at her own thoughts before jumping rather suddenly, staring at him with huge eyes.

"Ohh gosh! I'm sorry I'm not handling this as a professional. Okay I need to check your eyes for a second. Just lay still"

"Uhm..." Natsu didn't get time to react as the nurse a second later was shining with a flashlight into his eyes, making sure his pupils acted the right way.

"Good, good.. and I can see your heartrate and all is fine too. Can you hold on for a second while I get the doctor?"

"Ehh..." Blinking he watched the woman sprint out of the room. As soon as she was out in the corridor she threw her hands above her head and started yelling some name he didn't know.

"Weird..." he said to no one in particular while staring at the door, waiting for them to come back. He heard them on the corridor before seeing them. Luna was frantically babbling while the presumed doctor tried to calm her down, telling her it was a hospital and she needed to be more silent.

"Hello there and welcome back" a tall man with black hair and glasses smiled at him before walking towards his bed "I'm doctor Fodsvamp and I've been the person who's been responsible for your recovery. So how are you feeling?"

"Uhm.. fine? I guess?"

"Yes well you should be sedated enough so you shouldn't feel any physical pain" the doctor adjusted his glasses before looking at the shards he had in his hand "But is there anything else you feel? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No... not really no"

"Okay, just let me know if there is something, anything you need and we'll get it for you. Look I'll give you a quick overview of your situation but I'll explain it all in details later on when you're more awake, okay?"

"Uhm sure"

"Splendid! Now you had some severe wounds and you lost a lot of blood. Furthermore you had some broken ribs, a broken arm, a punctuated lung, some bruises and cuts on your body, First we had to put you into a coma to prevent your body from going into shock. After that we closed your wounds while giving you blood transfusions. I won't bore you with details but after fixing you up we kept you in the coma to make sure your body would cooperate to make sure it was healing in the correct way. Fortunately it did so we brought you out of the coma yesterday and we've been waiting for you to wake up ever since"

The doctor adjusted his glasses before continuing "I should mention though that through the whole procedure, this girl called Wendy healed you. I'm not used to that type of method because it's rather orthodox in my field, but I'll admit that if she hadn't been there, you would have died"

The doctor took a moment to look at Natsu trying to see if the kid understood what he was telling him "So that covers the basics of your treatment here so far. Do you have any questions?"

"Mmm... no... I don't think so"

"Well let me know if you change your mind or if you have any questions. The next step in your treatment is making sure you get a lot of rest, so I'll give you some sedatives to make sure you relax"

"Okay, that's fine I guess..." Natsu shrugged before turning his head to stare out of the window again.

"Mmm-hm" the doctor nodded before exchanging a quick look with the nurse "So are you in the mood for a visitor?"

"Who?"

"Well that's up to you. There's quite a crowd gathered out there who wants to talk to you. But I wont allow more than one person at the time considering your... mmm... situation. So do you want me to take a look at who's out there?"

"No... no it doesn't matter..." he sighed before turning to face the doctor "it doesn't matter who it is... I just... I don't know... want to be sure this is real? If that makes sense?"

"It does. I'll send someone in, in a minute but just so you know it, the visit will be brief. You need to rest and get a lot of sleep. See you later Dragneel" the doctor adjusted his glasses yet again, before leaving the room with the nurse following close behind him.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before he heard someone gently knocking at the door. The sound made him flinch involuntarily because he suddenly felt dread and horror rushing through his body. For some bizarre reason he felt insecure and started doubting if he was ready to face someone. He wanted to be left alone, but on the other hand he wanted desperately to talk to anyone from the guild, because maybe that would ease the thoughts racing through his skull.

Taking a deep breathe he turned his head towards the door, closing his eyes for a second, trying to control the uncomfortable feelings raging through his body.

"Yeah come in" his voice was trembling slightly and an invisible layer of sweat was starting to cover his body making him shiver involuntarily, as he watched the door open almost in slow motion. The moment he saw the blonde haired girl, he flinched for a second, but kept laying still pretending not to be affected by her company.

"Hey" Lucy smiled at him and he managed to smirk in return.

"Hey"

"I..." a few tears started running down her cheeks "I'm so sorry for crying I'm just so happy to see you alive. It... it's been so long you know and I missed you a lot"

"Mmm..." was all Natsu could manage to say as he kept staring at her with a blank look. It was almost as if he didn't really see her but was staring into the air.

"How... how are you feeling?"

"Fine..." he shrugged looking into her eyes for a second, before turning his attention in another direction "Good I guess"

"That's great. I'm sure you'll feel even better in the future" Lucy grabbed his hand and she noticed how he flinched for a second trying to pull his hand away from her. But it was only momentarily because a second later she felt how his hand seemed to relax. It did not return her gesture though. It just laid limply in her hand clearly indicating that he just allowed her to hold it. Nothing more, nothing less. Natsu didn't say anything but kept staring blankly as if he was somehow consumed or locked away inside of his mind.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lucy asked again and gave his hand hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah..." he looked at her face "You?"

"Me? I'm fine, perfectly healthy. But you shouldn't worry about me or the others you're the one who needs medical attention. So..." she unconsciously started scratching her neck "... you don't have anything to worry about me"

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked at her scratching her neck, because there were some visible bruises there. At first he felt angry, because someone had dared to harm her. Then he felt confused because there was something that seemed to spark in his memory. _But what was that..?_

"So yeah once you get out I'm sure everyone wants to hold a gigantic party..." she kept talking but he didn't listen. There was something he had to think about. A faint memory... so small... like a whisper from a distant past.

Then it hit him. That moment before he lost his consciousness in the cave he had definitely choked her. He wasn't sure it was her at that specific moment, but he did remember that he wondered why she reacted so strangely. So it had been the real Lucy after all, because she clearly had the bruises indicating that his actions had been real.

Natsu felt sick to the core as he watched her. She was still going on, talking about something completely random but he didn't care about the things she was blabbering about. No, the feelings of hate towards himself and regret that rushed through him was more dominant, making him shiver involuntarily as he removed his hand from hers.

"Natsu? Is something wrong?"

"You have to go..."

"Why?"

"Just LEAVE! Go! I don't want to see you!" He roared in both pain and anger, making her jump in surprise.

"What?"

"I said get the fuck out of here!" he got into a sitting position and threw his pillow towards her making her dodge as she moved towards the door.

Natsu was heaving for air as he watched Lucy leave the room with a rather sad look on her face. It hurt seeing her like that but he couldn't face all of the guilt he felt when he looked at her. It was too soon and too painful. He was so confused and frustrated that he didn't notice the nurse entering the room, nor did he notice hands gently pushing him back onto the bed where he was given more sedatives to help him fall asleep. Which happened almost immediately because both his mind and body was exhausted.

* * *

Lucy felt hurt and confused as she walked back to the other members of the guild who was currently at the hospital's waiting room. Of course they had all gone crazy and started cheering when the doctor told them Natsu had woken from his coma, but none of them was pleased to hear that only one of them could visit him. But after some explanation they all reluctantly accepted and decided Lucy should go to him, because she would probably be the one who could best connect with him.

_Yeah that was a wise decision,_ she thought sarcastically as she entered the waiting room, where everyone was staring at her in anticipation.

"How is he?" Erza asked while walking towards her.

"I don't know"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Gray crossed his arms and crocked an eyebrow "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Exactly what I said. Physically he looked fine given the circumstances, but mentally he seemed off"

"Off? How so?" the scarlet haired woman looked baffled for a second.

"Well it was as if he wasn't really there. It was like he was lost inside himself and not paying attention to his surroundings. He didn't really pay attention to me either until..." Lucy tilted her head forward, making her hair shadow her eyes "... until he threw me out"

"He threw you out?!" Happy appeared in front of her and stared at her with huge, confused eyes "Why Lucy?"

"I'm not sure... I think... he saw the bruises on my neck and remembered what he did in the cave" she sighed heavily "why didn't I use a scarf or something. I'm such an idiot!"

"It's not your fault Lucy" Erza stated before continuing "He needs time to heal and we'll be there when he needs us"

"Yeah I know, it's all part of the healing process right?"

"Yes"

They all nodded in agreement and stood in silence wondering how and when the dragon slayer would feel better. It would take time but as they say eventually time heals all wounds. They hoped it was true in this situation too, but for now they would all try to be patient and take things as they came.

* * *

Frustrated, hurt and angry Lucy walked around in the waiting room yet again hoping to get a moment to talk to Natsu. But noooo! No matter how many times she came and waited he still didn't want to see her. Sure, she should be happy that he wanted to talk to the other members of the guild, but she couldn't help feeling neglected and hurt when Natsu accepted people to visit him that he barely knew. Seriously he even said yes to a visit from Ichiya of all people! But her? No!

"Mooh!" she groaned before kicking a garbage can, making it wobble slightly from the impact.

Of course she knew Natsu needed time but it had already been what? Fourteen days?

"Ugh!" she needed to talk to him and explain herself. He had to know that it wasn't his fault and that she didn't hold it against him.

"I will pray for your recovery, goodbye" Lucy heard Jura's voice and watched as he bowed in front of Natsu's room before walking towards the exit.

"It's not fair.." pouting Lucy looked at the door Jura had left open.

_Wait... _she looked around her and noticed no one was there besides herself. _She could just... no that would be bad... wouldn't it?_

_No... _she thought while shaking her head. He needed to know she didn't recent him for what he did. It could be vital for his recovery knowing that, or she thought it might help somehow. Maybe it was a silly excuse she made to herself, because she needed to see him, but she didn't care. In her mind it was all about him and his recovery, not her own selfish feelings.

So with that in mind she glanced around her one last time before sneaking into his room silently. Once she was inside Lucy looked at the dragon slayer who was laying on his side staring out of the window.

_Huh, that was easy? _She thought while closing the door. Natsu didn't react to it though. No, he kept laying in the same position, even when she crossed the floor.

"Hey" he exhaled loudly, making her jump slightly in surprise as stared at his back.

"Hey" her voice was trembling slightly because she felt nervous all of a sudden "Uhm... I'm sorry I barged in all of sudden. I know that you..."she had to take a deep breathe to settle her emotions before continuing "... that you didn't want to see me. I... I just need to tell you that I don't care about what you did to me. I know it must be hard forgiving yourself but I need you to know, that it wasn't your fault. You had a lot of painful experiences down there right? So it's only natural it would make you do what you did. I know it's painful knowing you hurt a person you care about, but you have to forgive yourself at some point, because every person has a limit. So do you, and when those limits are broken we do things we might regret later on"

Natsu didn't move but kept staring out the window. It hurt seeing him like that but she knew she had to suck it up, because he was in a far worse condition than her.

"So... just know that no matter what I'm here for you, okay" she smiled sadly "it doesn't matter when, I can wait. I know I'm rude and selfish for barging in like this but... I had to tell you... I... I'll see you, okay" Lucy turned around and walked towards the door.

"Wait..." his voice sounded so broken and filled with pain that she could feel her own heart skipping a beat.

"Yes?" she turned towards him. He was still laying in the same position with his back towards her when he spoke "I... it's just... I get so angry when I see you... But also sad... I..." he exhaled shakingly before continuing "I thought if I ignored you things would get better... at the same time I wanted you to be here... I don't know why... I..."

Lucy could see him shaking and knew he was silently crying from all of the conflicting emotions ripping him apart from the inside. She felt so torn but didn't hesitate for a second as she marched back to Natsu grabbing his shoulder and squeezing it gently to let him know she supported him.

For a second it almost felt peaceful just standing there listening to the silence that filled the room. She felt so content that it surprised her when she felt him grab her wrist and in a quick movement turned around to face her. She only caught a glimpse of his tear streaked face because the next moment he used his right arm to pull her down against his chest, wrapping his arms around her in what would usually be a very tight hug. But since his left arm was bandaged rather firmly because of the shattered bones, his right arm was the only one that was using force to pin her against his own body.

Her head was resting on his chest and she could hear his heartbeat and breathing coming in steady rhythms.

"I... I missed you too" his voice cracked indicating he was still crying in silence "please... I just... want to cling to this moment... a little while longer". His arm squeezed her gently before he started stroking her hair, trying to caress the feeling of her smooth hair. It felt so good having her there that he didn't second guess his actions as he brought his lips to her hair, kissing it gently while inhaling her amazing scent.

He felt kind of satisfied and liberated for what seemed like the first time in very a long time.

Natsu exhaled and felt something inside of him settling. He didn't know what it was but it felt like a remedy that somehow eased his mind, making it more peaceful. His stomach was fluttering with emotions and it didn't take long before he fell asleep, relaxing on a level he hadn't experienced since he was a child.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm not sure if it's the right procedure Natsu went through at the hospital, but after my experience I think it might be a plausible way to approach his condition. But then again I'm not a doctor so I don't have knowledge on the subject.

Badam-tsch! That's all for now! *throws a bucket of heart shaped virtual cookies and fish in your direction* Laaaaaterssssss! :3


	14. Complicated Emotions

**A/N: **Heeeey peeps!

Blizzcon... Blizzcon... I can't wait for it to start today! Woohoo! :)

And yes, I suggest you send a lot of love in Natsu's direction when reading this chapter. He's a sad little dragon slayer...

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Complicated Emotions**

"And if there's anything, anything at all make sure to contact me, okay?" the nurse smiled brightly towards the dragon slayer as she followed him towards the exit of the hospital.

"Yeah sure" he shrugged and smirked slightly in return.

"I mean it! With all you've been through it would be normal if you develop some nasty side effects"

"I'll keep that in mind"

"Just make sure you talk to someone about it, mkay? It ain't healthy locking yourself up in that pretty head of yours"

"Shut up..." he pouted in annoyance, making the nurse laugh.

"Seriously though you have to take care of yourself. I've seen strong men melt like butter because they didn't take their problems seriously. And it's silly really, because society dictates that it's not okay for men to show their feelings. They have to be strong and fierce!" she stopped to flex her arms "Because men have to protect the world, right? But that's just stupid! Women can take care of themselves and still be free to show emotions"

"Uhm..."

"So! If you feel your emotions are trying to overwhelm you, talk to someone. It helps a lot"

"Thanks, I will"

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise"

"Good. Is that your friends waiting for you?" she pointed towards a small group who was talking and occasionally glaring in their direction.

"Yeah they're great" he smiled but it was obvious even to the nurse, that he was forcing himself to look happy.

"Mmm-hm"

"Hey Natsu!" Lucy smiled eagerly while waving her hand.

"Are you ready to go?" Erza questioned exchanging a quick look with the nurse.

"Yeah..." Natsu shrugged while smirking towards his team "... I am"

"Natsuuuu!" Happy cried as he flew into Natsu's arms, hugging him like he was afraid that the dragon slayer might vanish if he let go.

"Let's go home. I can't wait to see how much you've trashed our place, in the time I was gone"

"It... it... isn't that bad..." Happy's eyes suddenly became huge in horror "Oh no... I forgot to put the fish in the freezer"

"Uhm... hasn't it been like a week since you were back at your place?" Gray asked the cat who nodded in return "Eww..."

"You guys make sure to take good care of this tiny little dragon slayer" the nurse giggled as she pinched Natsu's cheek between two fingers, making him squeal in pain "And if he doesn't behave or if he acts abnormal feel free to contact me, okay? I have this weird feeling he wont keep his promise to me, so if you spot anything out of the ordinary don't hesitate" she released him, earning a few grumps and insults as Natsu started rubbing his sore cheek.

"I promise we will. Thank for everything, we will be on our way now" Erza bowed before gesturing to the others to follow her.

"No problem! Take care, you hear!" The nurse smiled brightly while waving enthusiastically towards the group leaving the hospital. She truly hoped everything would turn out right for the poor kid and prayed to whoever was listening, that he would use his friends and talk about the inner battles he was having. The future would be hard to face, but if he shared his burden it would be easier.

* * *

Natsu walked in silence and listened to his friends babbling about nothing and everything. They tried involving him in their conversation a few times, but he would just shrug and lose his attention after a short period of time. He didn't want to be rude but for some reason he couldn't prevent his mind from flying in a different direction. It wasn't as if he was thinking about something specific, his mind would just redirect itself for some bizarre reason.

"Hey, you okay?" Lucy poked his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"Mmm?" Natsu turned his head and smirked towards the girl "Yeah I'm good"

"You sure?"

"Mmm-hm" his smile was strained, but he didn't feel like opening up at the moment. Well not that he had anything to open up to, because he didn't feel particularly sad or frustrated. _He just felt... numb?_ Of course he was thrilled they were going back to the guild and he was happy his friends was there with him. But other than that... he didn't feel anything.

_Indifferent... yeah that was the right word for his feelings right now..._

"Don't look at me like that Lucy" he sighed heavily while putting his hands into his pockets "I'm fine..."

"Sorry, just let me know if there's anything I can do"

"Sure..." he stared at the ground with a haunted look "yeah... of course..."

"Good" she placed her hand on his shoulder making him flinch momentarily, before turning his head towards her.

"Thanks Lucy" he smiled sadly, before glaring at the ground again.

It hurt her seeing him like this, but she didn't say anything. Instead she smiled brightly hoping it would help him somehow.

They kept walking for a while until they reached a crossroad where Natsu stopped in his tracks.

"Guys, I'm going home. I'll... see you later, okay?"

"I'm coming with you!" Happy replied.

"No... Happy I know I'm being rude, but can you go with Lucy? I..." he sighed heavily "I need... I..."

"Aye! Lucy can you cook some fish for me?"

"Sure thing" the blonde girl replied.

"Fine" Erza said before continuing "Will you join us at the guild later today? As I've told you before they are holding a party to celebrate you're back"

"Of course! Count me in"

"Good, I will deliver your statement to the master. See you later then" Erza smiled as she started walking in guilds direction.

"I... I'll see you later" Lucy clenched her hand and raised it into the air "Let's have a fantastic party tonight!"

"Yeah, I'm game" Natsu nodded at her before going towards his home. He needed some time for himself, but then again he couldn't wait to see his friends later on.

* * *

Natsu was staring at the fish Happy had left in the kitchen. It smelled, no it reeked of rotten flesh and usually he would gag at the stench. But for some reason he didn't care. He just kept staring at it like it was some work of art he was judging and found interesting.

"Tsch!" he grunted before grabbing the fish carrying it to the garbage can outside of the house. But for some reason he froze in his position as he opened the lid. Usually he wouldn't dwell on symbolism and things like that, but there was something about throwing the rotten fish away. Like it was a piece of himself he was letting go. It was a stupid thought, but still it was lingering inside of him, nagging to be heard.

"Fuck" he snarled as he threw the fish away walking inside his house once more.

Turning around he looked at all of his relics from past missions. Normally he felt nostalgic remembering the different times and experiences he had with the items. But for some reason he couldn't feel the same emotions he used too when he looked at them. It was all so faint as if it was something he had done in a different life. And it hurt thinking like that... knowing and feeling that he couldn't commit to the same things he used to take pleasure in. Well not on the same level... He felt so utterly lost even when it was something concerning his own memories...

Sighing, he walked back to the kitchen. _He needed something to eat..._

There was some dried meat, some old cheese and some different things that hadn't mould on it or otherwise turned bad.

Natsu shrugged before grabbing the dried meat, taking a huge bite. _It tasted so bland?_ He chewed on it lazily without putting any effort into his actions. For some bizarre reason it felt like the meat in his mouth started to grow in size, making him more nauseous as he kept chewing.

"Ugh!" he spat into his garbage can, removing the meat from his mouth. Once it was gone he started smacking his tongue inside of his mouth, as if he could somehow remove the taste by doing that.

Natsu tried thinking about food he wanted to eat, but no matter what he thought about it would make his stomach twist uncomfortably. Well he didn't really want to eat anything anyway... actually it almost felt good having his stomach growling and hurting. He didn't know why because it was stupid feeling that way. But for some reason it felt nice having a physical pain, because he could relate to that.

"Whatever..." he sighed sitting on the floor. It wasn't as if they didn't have chairs but for some reason it felt good being there. On the floor in his kitchen... alone...

He was rocking back and forth for some reason and it made him laugh hysterically when he thought about it.

_Fuck, it was good being back. Being with his friends... being home... even if it was a rotten fish that was his welcome back present. _His laughing escalated making it hard to breathe, but eventually he got a hold of himself.

"Damn..." he removed some lonely tears, that had come from laughing so hard. For some reason he stared at his wet fingers and as he did his hands started trembling. While he kept staring at his hands, the world around him seemed to spin unpleasantly. It kept spinning around him until it seemed to wrap his brain into the circle. As it did he felt his own emotions being hurtled into the storm, awakening a lot of feelings he didn't want to acknowledge. All of a sudden the spinning stopped, hitting him with full force making his stomach clench painfully and making it hard to breathe.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered as warm tears suddenly ran down his face "I'm so sorry..."

There was nothing to apologize for but for some reason he felt he had to. It was weird and it didn't make sense but he felt guilty. Like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

_Why is it so hard to breathe, _he thought while wrapping his right arm around his stomach hugging himself, trying to prevent the pain in his stomach from somehow escalating to the rest of his body. It helped somewhat, but he couldn't move.

Frozen in his position he slowly started rocking himself back and forth again.

_Why... this doesn't make sense... _he tried logic to calm his emotions, telling himself this wasn't like him. But it didn't help. Nothing helped... he was a passenger on the wave of emotions overwhelming him and he could do nothing to stop it. No, he had to endure it until it eventually stopped, leaving him breathless and in pieces on the floor.

* * *

He didn't know how much time had passed but eventually Natsu got a hold of his emotions. Or well it was more like he felt so exhausted from the feelings overwhelming his body, that he couldn't feel anything any more. It was too much and too painful that his own body somehow locked his emotions away.

For some reason he just wanted to lay there. Not feeling anything, doing nothing but stare at his surroundings with a blank look. But then again he wanted to go to the guild to meet his friends. He needed, no he craved to be in their company. Why did he have conflicting feelings about it? Normally he would be more than happy to go to a huge party and celebrate with all the people he cared about. This wasn't like him at all and it made him angry for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn't understand himself or his emotions, but he could honestly say it was damn frustrating!

Especially because the lack of control and the feeling of not understanding what was going on, was so annoying it made him shiver in anger.

"Fuck..." growling he got into a standing position. Once there he turned his head, unsure of what to do next. For some reason the anger made him restless but also undetermined about what he should do.

_Well maybe a shower would work?_ He thought to himself as he removed his clothes while walking towards the bathroom. _Stripping and walking, huh? Does that remind you of someone?_ Chuckling he turned on the water, making sure it was warm enough. When he was satisfied with the temperature he walked into the streaming water.

_It felt so soothing... _a shiver of delight escalated through him at the feeling of the hot water running down his body and cross his exposed skin. He knew that the nurse would scold him if she knew he was taking a shower with his bandages unprotected from the water but he didn't care. It felt so fucking good, making him smile genuinely to himself.

He kept standing like that just enjoying the feeling of the hot water streaming down on him and covering his body in a thin layer of heat. It almost felt like being engulfed in a warm embrace. Like the water itself was trying to calm him down.

After awhile he got out of the shower, drying himself quickly with his magic. His bandages didn't seem to have gotten affected by the shower, which caused him to snicker slightly because he didn't want to replace them. Of course he would have to do that eventually but he didn't feel like doing it now. Well he couldn't exactly replace the plaster on his left arm, but he couldn't remove it either because it would take awhile for the bones there to heal.

_Mehh,_ shrugging he found some clean clothes, putting it on rather smoothly considering his condition. With that in order he found his scarf laying on the floor with the other things he had tossed there, when he stripped for the shower. When he wrapped it around his neck he could feel his heart fluttering in joy. It was an important item to him and for some reason it made him feel better. Just the smell of it made him feel hopeful.

Natsu didn't have the scarf with him in the cave, but after waking up he was thrilled for the first time, when they brought it to him. Actually he had been so overwhelmed by joy that he felt like crying. Happy was the one who brought it to him and the poor cat was shocked when he saw him grabbing the scarf with trembling hands, hugging it closely to feel the fabric against his skin.

_Ohh well..._ he managed to smile almost convincingly as he walked towards the door .._.time to get this party started!_

* * *

His honest opinion? It was fun! His friends, the party everything was awesome!

For some reason the alcohol seemed to dull his pain, showing it away somewhere inside of himself like it was a nightmare he never really experienced.

Natsu was talking casually with people, picking up random fights and was what he would call acting like his usual self. Of course he sometimes caught the nervous glances Lucy would send him, but he didn't pay much attention to it. It was a party! And he felt amazing!

"Gajeel! Let's wrestle!" he grinned enthusiastically while pointing a finger towards the metal head.

"Huh? You sure kid? I won't go easy on you, you know?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way!" snickering he placed his elbow on the desk luring with his right hand for Gajeel to grab it.

"It's on!" the other dragon slayer was smirking as he grabbed the hand "You ready?"

"I was born ready!" Natsu exclaimed as they started their little contest. Both of them was putting all of their effort into the action. But even if he was set on the challenge Natsu couldn't help his gaze from momentarily wandering to Lucy who was talking to Gray. It seemed like she was having a good time. _Good, she deserved it..._ he thought to himself.

But for some reason there was something that started burning inside of him. It was an unpleasant and unknown feeling. For some reason it made him angry, frustrated and annoyed. He didn't know why all of those feelings seemed to rage inside of him, but once it started it seemed to escalate. Especially when he heard her laughing or saw her gently punch Gray, at something he had said.

_What the fuck... _he thought to himself and was momentarily so consumed in his own thoughts, that he didn't commit enough to the match he was having. He felt it though, as Gajeel in a quick movement slammed Natsu's hand against the desk, making the whole thing crack and splinter to pieces.

"Huh...?" Natsu glared at his hand as the metal head released it, not noticing the roaring laughter coming from his opponent.

_Ohh... _he blinked a few times still staring at his hand. _He... lost? Again? Wait... had he ever lost a wrestling contest against Gajeel?_ He couldn't remember. Not that it mattered. _Or did it?_ For some reason he felt angry, but there was also this other feeling he couldn't put his finger on.

"For fucks sake!" he yelled before wiggling his tongue teasingly towards Gajeel "Bleeeeh!"

"Don't act like a girl just because you lost, kid"

"Bleeeehh!" he kept wiggling his tongue, while momentarily looking in Lucy's direction. She was still engulfed in her conversation. Evidently she didn't even hear him losing! Well that was... good? Wasn't it? But... then again... what? He wanted her to cheer on him? Tell him Gajeel cheated? What?

Confused he ruffled his hair with his right hand while exhaling rather loudly. It didn't matter, did it? But why the fuck was he so confused all of a sudden? Why was his emotions behaving like a bunch of kids high on sugar, each one trying to convince him he was feeling bad?

"Fuck this shit!" he threw his hand into the air somehow acknowledging the defeat in his mind.

For some reason his surroundings suddenly felt loud and smothering. Like it was trying to consume him, capturing him inside a tiny box. The air in his lungs seemed to vanish all of a sudden as he started to panic. _Why?_ He was panting, feeling a chill run down his spine. _He was... scared? Confined? It was weird, too weird._

Sprinting he left the guild. He had to run, escape. _But from what? It was so irrational!_ He kept running and for some reason it felt good how the muscles in his legs seemed to ache, from his sudden movements.

Natsu didn't know for how long he ran but he stopped once he got to the canals. Heaving for air he felt how his knees seemed to buckle underneath him, making him fall down to a sitting position.

He kept sitting like that, just staring at the water passing by. It almost felt soothing just staring at it, trying to ignore the feelings rummaging inside his mind.

_Why? What the fuck is going on? _Bending his legs in front of him, he wrapped his arm around them, before placing his head on his knees. _This is so confusing..._

He didn't know how long he sat there. It was in the middle of the night, so fortunately no one cared about him being there. If it had been during the day he was sure people would frown at him, thinking he was a lazy punk. Not that he would care about that, but it was nice having his own space.

It started raining all of a sudden, but Natsu didn't care. No, it was actually nice feeling the cold water as it hit him, running down his skin and drenching every inch of him. Time seemed to freeze, like he was caught in the moment. It was a weird feeling because even his emotions seemed to be at a standstill. Nothing seemed to happen and for some reason it was almost pleasant. Well no that wasn't the right word, but the indifferent feeling was a nice replacement from his pain and confusion.

"Natsu...?"

He heard the voice but was unsure how to react.

"Natsu?"

"Mmm" it was more of a grunt than an actual sound but he made it to acknowledge her presence.

"Are you okay?" her voice was so gentle it made him flinch momentarily, before turning his head in her direction.

"Luce..." his eyes widened as he looked at her drenched body "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you"

"Why?"

"Well you rushed out of the guild all of a sudden, so I was worried. You know, I was wondering if something happened"

"Ohh..." he cast his look downwards to avoid her eyes "... it's nothing. I just needed some fresh air..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay"

Natsu had to look at her to confirm she didn't need any further explanation. Why didn't she ask him why he left all of a sudden? Demand to tell her why he was behaving so uncharacteristic and just left without a word?

"You don't have to say anything to me if you don't want to Natsu. I know it can be hard explaining emotions sometimes and considering it's you I wouldn't be surprised if it's even harder. Don't misunderstand me, it's hard for a lot of people to talk about their emotions. Heck, it's even harder to acknowledge them"

Lucy was blushing as she continued "I mean you're the type of person who lives your life not bothering to put a name on the things you feel. That's admirable because you don't usually dwell on things for too long. You do what's best for the people around you and eventually you do what's best for yourself as well"

She was sincere and the meaning hit him directly, making his heart skip a beat. Her soothing words trying to reach out to him, making him feel comfortable without pressuring him.

Natsu knew she was right. If he wanted salvation he would have to find the answers himself. And to do that he needed help, no he craved for it. He didn't know why, nor did he feel any reason to justify his actions, but in an instant he grabbed her with his right arm, forcefully pulling her into a tight hug. The action was so quick it made Lucy jump in surprise for a second.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you" he chuckled darkly, while placing his head on her shoulder.

"It's okay" she giggled while gently placing her arms around his torso "You can hug me all you want. I'm here for you... always"

"Thanks..." he placed his nose against her neck for a second, inhaling her sweet scent before resting his head on her shoulder again "... for always being there"

"You've always been there for me, so of course. I would never abandon you"

"You'll... never leave me?"

"No"

"Promise?"

"I promise"

Natsu could feel the chaos inside of him vaporising as he exhaled a shaking breath. It wasn't entirely gone but it was like a lid had been placed on it, making his confusion and pain so small in size it was nothing more than a dull throb inside his stomach. Everything would get better eventually he just had to focus on the here and now. Living, feeling and leaning on the people in his life that meant the most to him. Hope... yes... the feeling of hope was rushing through him, making him confident that eventually everything would settle inside of him.

* * *

**A/N:** Aaaand there you have it! I'll admit this chapter was hard to type, because I had to face some inner demons to create it. It's all good though, because once I started typing it just escalated on it's own.

I'm soooo tired... my cat is sleeping on his hammock... I want a hammock... zzZzz...

Until next time! :)

/Hejmdal


	15. Fabulous Tears

**A/N: **Yohohoho! This chapter was trolling me so much. I had to delete a lot of the first version I made and then create new content. So yeah... I had a huge writer's block.

Thanks richgirl555cub for the idea in your review. I incorporated some of it into this chapter and to be honest it inspired me to create some new plot material that I originally didn't consider including. So again thanks for the inspiration because this chapter turned out way better because of it :)

Guest: Thanks, I do intend on making things grow between them as the story progresses. I'm too much of a NaLu fan to not include that aspect ;)

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Fabulous Tears**

Lucy took a sip of her drink as she glanced at Natsu, who was sitting right next to her. Physically he looked okay-ish. Well he still had his left arm in a caster, but all of his other wounds were healing at a rather fast pace, because Wendy had used her magic to support him whenever she could. Of course his wounds weren't completely gone, but she thought it was an amazing progress considering that only been a week had passed by, since he left the hospital.

_Mentally however..._ she sighed and stared more intently on the dragon slayer. Right now he wasn't doing anything in particular. No, he was just staring sadly into thin air, not really noticing his surroundings. Like so many other times it was as if he wasn't there emotionally.

Of course he tried acting like his former self from time to time, being hyperactive and flamboyant about stupid things. But he didn't commit to it like he used to, neither did he get angry when people tried to provoke him. He would just shrug it off or turn his attention in a different direction. Well sometimes he had a few brawls with Gajeel but for some reason he seemed to avoid exchanging fists, thereby turning it into an actual fight.

If the person provoking him turned out to be Gray, he would refuse and recoil even further, because for some bizarre reason Natsu was very reluctant to fight him. The ice mage noticed the difference in the dragon slayer's behaviour rather quickly and after that tried to avoid topics that would usually ignite Natsu's anger.

It just felt wrong that they didn't fight any more, because it was obviously a vital thing in the bond between them. Besides the guild seemed more quiet and it was kind of unpleasant, because it left everyone slightly on the edge for some reason.

Maybe it was because no one dared address the dragon slayer and ask him what was wrong. Of course some tried but Natsu would just shrug (again) and say that everything was fine. Even if it was plainly obvious that he wasn't okay, no one wanted to force him to confess. Well... Erza tried a few times but it only seemed to anger him, and that made him even more stubborn. The last time Erza had tried he became so furious and started yelling at her saying: "that he was fine and that she should deal with her own fucking problems before demanding to know his".

This seemed to confuse the scarlet haired woman but she didn't push him again after that incident.

But this couldn't continue much further and they all knew it, because it was quite clear from the bags under his eyes, that he didn't get enough sleep. To make matters worse it looked like he had lost weight, making his muscles stand out underneath his skin. Well more than they usually did...

Sighing she gently poked the dragon slayer making him flinch for a second as he turned towards her.

"Hmm?"

"Did Happy tell you about what happened at my apartment last night?"

"No..." he looked up at the ceiling for a second, deep in his own thoughts before looking at her again "... no... he didn't... did... something happen?" he looked concerned as he narrowed his eyes.

"No, nothing bad happened" she waved her hands frantically in front of her, trying to empathise what she said "He offered to help me clean the table after dinner, because he wanted to show his gratitude towards me, for allowing him to stay at my apartment. Well he also said he was thankful I helped him catch some fish the other day..."

"Ohh..."

Lucy could practically feel the melancholic aura coming from the dragon slayer making her feel uncomfortable. Ever since Natsu got home Happy had been sleeping at Lucy's apartment, because the dragon slayer needed some time on his own. At first the cat was really puzzled and sad about it, but of course he didn't question him, because he couldn't say no to the dragon slayer. Especially because Happy would do almost anything if it helped in Natsu's recovery.

But even though the cat had good intentions and knew it was only a temporary situation, Happy couldn't help but feel sad sometimes. And of course Natsu felt terrible about it, because even though Happy never admitted this sadness to him, the dragon slayer could tell because of the special bond they shared with each other.

Lucy understood all too well how he felt. She also understood that he needed space and time to figure things out. It was a normal reaction for any human being, that they needed time to think things through and to heal their mental wounds. Natsu had to understand, that he wasn't betraying Happy, by sending him away. No, sometimes it's okay being selfish, because if people always used all of their time carrying other's burdens, they would suffocate and forget to take care of them self.

"As I was saying..." she turned to make sure that the dragon slayer was still listening "... he helped me clean the table and I asked him if it was alright if he washed the plates, while I put new sheets on the bed. Anyhow after a couple of minutes I heard him yelping from the kitchen and when I got there I was surprised to see that the kitchen floor was covered in pink water. At first I was confused but then I saw Happy standing at the sink with an empty bottle, that used to contain a magical potion I bought back in the days, because I had a dress I wanted to dye. Of course I had forgotten all about the potion, because it's been standing on my shelf for so long... You should have seen his face when he realised that the kitchen floor wasn't the only thing that was suddenly pink. All of his fur had turned pink too. Fortunately I had the remedy to remove the colour but it was fun, once I managed to calm Happy down and ensure him that it wasn't a permanent colour and he wouldn't become less attractive"

Lucy turned and wasn't that surprised to see that Natsu wasn't pay attention to what she was saying.

"Pink is a great colour for Happy" she smirked teasingly "Actually I think it might suit him better than another person I know"

"Mmm, hm..."

"You should swap colours"

"Huh?" Natsu blinked in confusion as he turned to stare at her "Swap colours with who?"

"Happy"

"Happy?"

"Yes"

"Mmm..." he seemed to think about it for a second before shaking his head "Naaaww, it wouldn't match with my eyes... I think I prefer it the way it is"

"Me too" she smiled towards him, making him smirk slightly in response.

"Luce... I'm sorry but I have to go"

"So soon?"

"Yeah, I'm tired. See you tomorrow, kay?"

"Okay, sleep well"

"Thanks, you too"

Lucy watched him leave the guild, making her release a breath she didn't even know she was holding. It was so damn frustrating watching her best friend acting so unusual but she didn't know what to do. She told him that he could come to her whenever he wanted to open up, but for some reason he didn't want to do that. Well not yet but he would eventually … _right?_

"Moooh!" she exclaimed in frustration while turning her head to search for Levy. It didn't take more than a second for her to spot the girl sitting at a desk behind a lot of books, reading in one of them with a concentrated look on her face.

"Levy?"

"Lu-chan! Perfect timing! Look at this" the blue haired girl waved her hand encouraging Lucy to approach before pointing at a page in the book.

"Hmm..." narrowing her eyes Lucy read the passage in the book a couple of times to make sure she understood what it said "... this... might take a while"

"I know, but it's the best thing I could find in my own books and from the ones I borrowed at the library"

"It's okay Levy, I'm just grateful you took your time finding something. Thank you"

"You're welcome! Good luck and please tell me if you need my help, okay?"

"Of course" she smiled encouragingly towards Levy before hugging her "Really thank you. You're amazing"

"Any time Lu-chan" she giggled while hugging her back.

After a couple of minutes of hugging Lucy removed her arms, thanking Levy once more before saying goodbye and leaving the guild. Now she knew what she had to do. It wouldn't be easy but she was determined to try.

* * *

Natsu sighed heavily as he closed the door to his house behind him.

He knew he wasn't acting like himself lately but for some reason it was hard really committing to the things he usually enjoyed or found interesting. No, it all just felt insignificant and well... bland.

To make matters worse he couldn't figure out if he wanted to be with his friends, or if he wanted to be alone. His emotions kept changing every other second and if he thought about it, it should confuse and agitate him to no end. But for some reason he didn't care. _Or well he did, but then again ...he didn't?_

"Mehh" shrugging he lazily strolled towards the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator fetching a bottle of milk, removing the bottlecap in a swift movement.

Drinking the milk he took a few steps into the living room scanning it quickly to take it all in. It was a new habit for him to watch everything around him carefully, as if he wanted to make sure everything was in order. Not that it was a bad habit as such, but it was weird that he had to make sure no one, or nothing surprised him. _Maybe he was slightly paranoid...?_

"Ugh!" Natsu flinched momentarily in pain as he stepped on something he didn't notice was laying on the floor "What the...?" narrowing his eyes he stared at the now broken mug. Fortunately it wasn't that sharp so he didn't cut himself. But it still hurt feeling it shatter and crunch into pieces underneath his foot.

"God damn it, who left a fucking mug on the floor! Ugh!" He roared as a sudden anger rose inside of him making him lose control for a split second as the anger overwhelmed him. Furious he tossed the bottle of milk in his hand violently against the wall, resulting in it shattering and making the remaining milk splatter on the wall and some of his furniture.

Panting he stared at the milk for a few seconds feeling a sudden amount of regret. It was only a mug and they had a dozen of those. It was so silly becoming angry because of a stupid mug. Besides if Happy knew he spilled milk like this he would be furious because milk, just like fish, isn't something you joke about.

Damn it, now he felt terrible and like a villain from a silly story. _Evil Natsu, the destroyer of milk! Beware or he might throw your milk away!_ The thought made him chuckle in a sad way as he walked over to the glass, removing the biggest chunks with his hands. _But what would the motive for destroying milk be? Hmm... maybe humanity would grow weaker if they don't have their daily milk? Making their bones fragile?_

"Auch!" he was so lost in his own thoughts he accidentally cut himself on some if the glass, making it bleed from the newly acquired wound on his index finger "Damn it" he dropped the glass from his hands before putting the finger into his mouth.

"Hmm..." for some reason he suddenly felt sad. It was irrational and had nothing to do with him cutting himself. Well at least he didn't think so... it was hard knowing for sure because his emotions were like a bundle of strings, that seemed to be bundled together in a chaotic mix of knots.

It was strange and weird because even though he felt his emotions was scattered, most of the time he didn't feel anything. But then again whenever he felt something, it was like he was going from one extreme mood to the other. Like he could get so furious he could feel it burning in his veins, making him irrational... well more than usual... Other times he felt so depressed that he wanted nothing more than to curl up on his bed and pretend to vanish from existence. Finally he could be so happy that he almost felt like he was going crazy, laughing hysterically at nothing in particular.

Grunting, Natsu sat down on the floor because he suddenly felt very tired. Well he was struggling to sleep, not because of the nightmares but thoughts just seemed to fill his mind whenever he got to bed, making him restless even though he was exhausted. Sometimes the thoughts was about random things like food, other times he thought about the creature in the cave, wondering what happened to it and what it was doing. Maybe it was all alone doing nothing... but then again... whenever he thought about the thing he wondered what they should do about it. _They had to stop it, but how? When?_

Well of course they had taken certain precautions by making a huge magical barrier that prevented people from entering the cave. Besides that they had people guarding the entrance making sure no one entered the cave or that the creature escaped. _But was that enough? The creature was using shadows so wouldn't it be fairly easy to escape without them noticing?_

A sudden knock on the door made him yelp in surprise before turning his head in the sounds direction. _Who could that be?_ Natsu wondered for a second before the familiar scent reached his nostrils. _Ohh... _he got to a standing position before walking towards the door to great his visitor.

* * *

Lucy knocked on his door one more time, tripping as she waited for Natsu to open it. She was slightly anxious but hoped everything would be better once she got a chance to tell him what she learned after reading in Levy's book. _But then again she was unsure how to say it..._

Of course she couldn't know for sure if he was at home but it was highly plausible, because he was making it a habit to spend a lot of time there, whenever he wasn't at the guild. Well that was understandable because considering his physical and emotional trauma, he needed to be in places where he felt safe.

Lucy was so caught up in her own thoughts that she jumped slightly in surprise when the door opened in front of her, revealing a dragon slayer who was sucking on his index finger.

"Hey!" smiling she waved her hand.

"Uhm... hey?" he looked confused as he tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times with wide eyes "What are you doing here? We saw each other at the guild... uhm... half an hour ago? Is something wrong?"

"No, no not at all. I uhm..." she started fidgeting her hands nervously in front of her "I just... wanted to talk to you about something..."

"What?"

"It's... kind of a sensible subject... can I come inside?"

"Yeah I guess" He shrugged lazily, taking a step back and allowing her to enter.

"Thanks" she smiled genuinely while walking into the living room. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the state of the room. _It was so... dirty!_ Well it was usually filthy and messy but this hit the intolerable level on her scale. _Must... resist... _Her fingers started itching because she had a sudden urge to clean the place, but she quickly got a hold of her emotions, thanks to the small slap she gave her cheek.

"It ain't clean I know" Natsu grumbled, still with his finger in his mouth "Sorry?"

"It's okay" she turned her head towards him "what happened to your finger?"

"I kinda lost my temper and broke a bottle of milk" exhaling he pointed towards the crime scene where the bottle was shattered "And yeah... cut my finger removing the glass"

"Ohh... let me see it"

"Hmm? It's right there? You're staring at it?"

"Your finger!" she exhaled loudly while reaching her hand towards him clearly implying she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Tsch, sure" rolling his eyes, he removed the finger from his mouth placing it reluctantly in her hand "It isn't that bad you know, it's just a scratch"

"Mmm-hm" she hummed for a second before dragging the dragon slayer to the kitchen, where she demanded that he held his finger under cold water. Natsu was staring at his bleeding finger, while Lucy reached into her back, finding some plaster.

"That's enough, now give me your finger"

"Hmm..."

"Hold still"

"Mehh..." he groaned in annoyance while looking at the ceiling for some bizarre reason.

"There! All done" Lucy smiled as she released his finger.

"Thanks..."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, both of them unsure how to break it.

"Uhm..." she rolled her thumbs against each other nervously "... we need to talk"

"Ooo... kay? Spill it"

"Let's... uhm..." _holy mother of... _she felt uncomfortable all of a sudden "... before that let's get rid of the glass from your... uhm... let's do this!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, raising a clenched fist above her head.

"Sure?" Slightly confused he followed her, helping her remove the glass and the milk. But for some reason that wasn't enough for the girl and soon they both ended up cleaning the entire living room. It was hard work taking hours to finish, but once it was done both of them collapsed on his couch.

"Damn I'm exhausted..." Natsu sighed stretching his arms above his head "I thought you wanted to talk, not clean"

"Yeah... sorry... it's just... hard... I don't know how to start..." her voice was so fragile it made his heart clench for a second.

"Luce... just tell me, okay? I'm here and I'm not going anywhere"

"Sure... hmm... of course... okay" she exhaled shakingly "You need stability, yeah? This thing you're dealing with right now is normal given the circumstances. I mean... the experiences you had was so painful no one could imagine how it felt like. Not really, even if we tried to. But... you need to take the things you've been through and face it somehow, because right now you're just a shell of yourself trying to endure with normal life. That's okay too, given the circumstances but you need to throw an anchor at some harbour, you know? Stop being a lonely boat at the middle of the sea because you don't need to suffer in solitude. Trust someone with your emotions because if you keep this up, you'll end up destroying yourself from within. Like I said the boat would just end up getting destroyed by the waves, because it didn't take time to go home"

Lucy took a second to look at Natsu, who was staring in front of him with a rather confused look on his face.

"You... know what I'm saying... right?"

He didn't respond and it made her stomach twist uncomfortably as a sudden sadness rushed through her body "... right?" her body was shaking trying to withhold the urge to cry.

"I know..." his voice was husky and dark as he wrapped his arms around her "I'm sorry..."

The air got caught in her throat as she responded to the gesture and hugged him back.

"No I'm sorry..." her voice was barely above a whisper but he heard it nonetheless.

"Shhh" he hushed gently while rubbing her back with his hand "Relax... if your boat needs a harbour I'm right here"

"Oy, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you"

"It takes two to... eat a tank, right?" He chuckled.

"... it takes two to tango... but yeah you're right" she giggled holding him tighter for a second, before resting her head against his chest.

They just sat there relaxing in each others arms and it didn't take long before they both feel asleep on his couch.

* * *

Natsu was swimming in the pool that belonged to the guild and he was having a great time. It was summer and everyone was having fun, swimming and partying, without having any worries in the world.

"This is the best!" he exclaimed before diving underneath the surface. It was so nice that it made his entrails bubble in excitement.

"Woah!" he cheered, as he broke through the surface of the water with his head "This is amazing!"

"The only thing amazing around here is me, kid" a certain metal head grumbled behind him with way too much confidence. Or so Natsu thought...

"Tsch! If you're amazing Gajeel, then the standards must have lowered considerably..." he turned around to face him , but the sight that met him made him freeze in shock "... what the..." his eyes visibly bulged as he glared at the other dragon slayer... who was wearing a purple bikini?

"What standards?" the other dragon slayer smirked teasingly as he continued "I am FA-BUUUU-LOUS! Right girls?"

Stunned Natsu watched as several girls in bunny suits suddenly spawned next to Gajeel. All of the girls were squealing loudly and had huge hearts in their eyes.

"No... way..." he whispered while glaring at the weird scenario.

"Gaaaaajeeel" Lucy sang as she rubbed her back up against said person, purring like she was a cat in heat "You're so masculine and amazing! I simply looooove that about you"

"Gehe" Gajeel smirked making his teeth sparkle for a second "I am aren't I?"

"No you're not!" Natsu growled while pointing an accusing finger at the metal head "Luce he's wearing a bikini!"

"So what?" she glared angrily at Natsu for a second, before turning her attention back on Gajeel. The way she was looking at him... it was like he was her idol or something... and it made him sick to the core for some reason. It was just wrong... _ohh so wrong_... on so many levels and it made him angry... but also sad...

"I am the best and most manly dragon slayer, right giiiiirls?" Gajeel purred before chuckling in a rather feminine way and flexing his muscles. As he did glistening stars suddenly appeared next to him, as if they were trying to empathise his status.

The sight made the girls scream in delight before fainting on the ground. Well... not all of them, because Gajeel caught Lucy's falling body, holding it firmly in his arms.

"You..." Natsu growled while clenching his hands "... get away from her!"

"No... I'll eat her for dinner! Yum, yum! A bunny steak is healthy" he howled in laughter.

"Like hell I'll allow that!"

He started moving in Gajeel's direction with the intention of knocking some sense into him, but for some reason the water in the pool suddenly became huge waves, making it impossible to do anything but follow the strong current.

Natsu felt anxious and dread as he watched one of the waves starting grow at a rapid pace until it was towering above his head. _If it crashed it would consume everything... damn..._

Time seemed to freeze as he watched the wave starting to fall down towards him. A moment later the wave collided with his body with so much force, that it was impossible for him to fight against it. He tried though, but the strong current in the wave kept him under water, making him twist and turn as the power became more profound and violent.

_Damn it... _cursing he felt how his lungs started to burn from lack of oxygen. _Have to breathe... need air..._

Natsu was about to open his mouth when he felt something warm wrap around his body and after a quick movement it pulled him out of the water.

He was heaving for air as he looked down on the thing that was captivating his body. _It was... a gigantic hand? What..._

Looking up he was even more surprise to stare at a gigantic version of Lucy, who was smirking teasingly at him.

"Luce...?"

"I don't care for appearances... deep inside you're beautiful too"

"Uhm...?" he blushed slightly at the comment "... really?"

"Yes" she giggled while opening the hand she used to hold him "it's right there inside of you" her thumb gently rubbed his belly, making him giggle because it kinda tickled.

"I have to have it..." her eyes started sparkling in a red colour "... yes"

"Wh..." his eyes widened in horror as her thumb suddenly transformed into something that resembled a dragon claw that was both lethal and pointy.

"I love a guy who is manly and wears a bikini"

The sentence was so random it confused him. However it wasn't that confusing that he didn't see how her claw looking thumb was aiming towards him, like a dangerous predator or snake, who are seconds away from dealing an attack. And sure enough a moment later Lucy's thumb was diving towards him. He wanted to move or make a counter attack, but the movement was so fast he didn't get time to respond. So unfortunately that meant the thumb a second later was piercing through his stomach, making blood splatter all over her hand. _Or maybe claw would be the best term, huh?_

He wanted to roar in pain but for some reason blood started running out of his mouth, blending with the pool of blood that was pouring out of his stomach at a rather quick pace that seemed unnatural.

He wanted to say something, but his voice was caught in his throat. It was locked there like it was a huge lump and for some reason it prevented him from breathing, making him suffocate.

_Why... no... please... _the thoughts raced inside of his head as he watched the girl starting to laugh, revealing very sharp canines.

"... let's get rid of the glass from your... uhm... let's do this!" the girl exclaimed eagerly as she raised her hand containing Natsu towards her mouth.

It didn't take a second for him to recollect that Lucy actually uttering that specific sentence earlier and it took even less time to figure out that the girl was going to eat him. As if on cue the mouth above him opened and the next he was thrown into the air flying in the mouth's direction.

_Damn it... _he felt so sad and exhausted as he entered the darkness of her mouth. Any moment the girl would start chewing on him and he could only imagine how horrible that would feel...

"Natsu..." her voice sounded so faint, but he didn't pay attention to it.

"Natsu..." she called again, making him confused for a second, because her voice should be booming and loud. After all he was in her mouth.

"Wake up..."

_Wake up? What?_

His eyes flew open all of a sudden, and the first thing he did was jump to a standing position where he stood panting and searching for an unknown enemy.

"It was just a nightmare, calm down"

Natsu didn't hear her, but kept scanning the room, feeling how his body started to shiver from the layer of sweat that was starting to cover his body.

Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder, making him jump in surprise before grabbing her wrist rather firmly. He then turned around in a swift move to stare at the unknown person with murderous intentions.

He kept staring at her fiercely for a few seconds, not noticing how she started to tremble. But all of a sudden it all seemed to hit him.

_You idiot! _He screamed inside his mind, as he released her from his hold. _This is just... ugh! _The look of hurt in her eyes made him shiver uncomfortably. _For fucks sake..._

Exhaling loudly, he placed his hand above his eyes, using them as a shield so he couldn't see the sight in front of him.

"I'm sorry..." his voice was fragile and shaking from the emotions, he was trying so hard to suppress "... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to scare you... I was just... so confused..."

"It's okay..." she sighed before continuing "... actually I'm to blame for this situation because I woke you up so abruptly from your nightmare. So it's only natural for you to be confused"

"Don't'..." he started trembling as the sadness rummaging inside of him tried pushing against his boundaries. Her voice was so filled with understanding and kindness that it hurt and the pain in him realised that, because it wanted nothing more than to shatter the thin layer in his mind he used to suppress his feelings. He wanted to tear the layer down but the feeling of regret that he hurt her, was so overwhelming it made him irrational "... please... stop being so kind"

"What?"

"I don't deserve it... you should be mad at me..."

"Why?"

"Because... I scared you..."

"But... it wasn't your fault..."

"EVERYTHING! IS MY FAULT!" he roared in anger, regretting it immediately as he felt the sad aura coming from the girl in his presence.

_What was he doing? Why couldn't he do anything right? _He felt weak all of a sudden, falling down on his knees as if he was starting to acknowledge that the sadness inside of him, was breaking through his thin façade.

"Damn it..." Natsu whispered, feeling absolutely horrible about himself "... why...?". He tried concealing the tears with his hands, that was still placed above his eyes, but it was a wasted effort, because they somehow managed to run through the tiny cracks between his fingers.

"Look at me..." Lucy pleaded as she sat down in front of him.

"No..."

"Please... look at me"

"I can't..."

"Why?"

"Because... I don't want to see you... worrying about me..."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing. Worrying about other's is a good thing isn't it? Do you remember what the master told me after Jose and the Phantom Lord attacked?"

"No..."

"Well essentially he told me that one person's sadness is every person's sadness. As a guild we all share our emotions with everyone. So if you're happy, the entire guild is happy with you. If you're sad, then everyone shares your sorrow. That's the strength of our guild. We support each other in good and in bad times"

He didn't respond other than snorting a few times, trying to ignore the snot that wanted desperately to escape from his nose.

"So you see" she continued "It's okay to share your feelings with me because we're both part of the same guild. Heck, we're even part of the same team, so it's fine if you share your pain with me"

"Yeah..." he snorted more profoundly, before he started chuckling in a dark tone "... you're right... I know you are... I'm just so... confused..."

"Please, look at me"

He peeked through his fingers, earning a loud sigh from her.

"That's not enough... remove your hands Natsu..."

Grunting in defiance, he removed his hands and looked at her with huge tear filled eyes.

He felt so oddly exposed all of a sudden and for some reason his lips started trembling. As they did it suddenly became more difficult to breathe in an even rhythm, almost as if he was starting to hyperventilate. Heck, even his tears started spawning at a faster rate.

"Luce I..." he took a deep breath trying to settle his emotions, ignoring the sound of his heart beating harder and faster, until he could hear it it thundering unpleasantly inside of his skull. "... I'm so sorry" his voice cracked, because he couldn't hold it in any more. It was too difficult keeping it locked up, especially because he could practically feel how the thin layer he used to conceal his pain shattered into pieces.

Natsu didn't try to prevent it any more as heart clenching cries escaped from his mouth.

For some reason he started rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, as if it might soothe him or maybe it was because he, for some bizarre reason, was trying to gather the tears and push them back into his eyes. Well the reason for his actions wasn't significant, he did it without realising why.

The sorrow that was now an acknowledged and dominant feeling in his body, made him tremble uncontrollably as the emotion seemed to ravage through every fiber of his body.

"Shh... it's okay" she hushed, while wrapping her arms around him, gently manoeuvring him into the embrace.

He didn't respond to the gesture, but kept crying with both hands gently rubbing against his eyes. Well him not responding wasn't exactly true, because he did rest his forehead against her shoulder. But other than that he just focused on crying.

None of them knew how long they sat in that position, waiting for the dragon slayer to calm down. Not that it mattered, the most important thing was being there and not letting go.

* * *

Natsu felt exhausted in spite of the fact it hadn't been that long since he took a nap on the couch.

Well dealing with your emotions was hard and expressing them was even harder. He should have known that.

His body wasn't trembling any more and it was becoming easier to breathe, without the air getting caught in his throat. In fact he felt... relief... as if all of the sadness he had kept locked up had escaped through the tears he had shed. It was such a pleasant feeling he almost didn't care he had cried for so long, while being held like he was a child who needed comforting.

Almost was the keyword, because he still felt... _not embarrassed, no... but something else... gratitude? Yes, definitely! But what was that word? He felt... shy? Exposed?_

Natsu took a moment to take a deep breathe before placing his hands on her shoulders, staring on the thin air that was between them. He tried opening his mouth a few times to say something. _Why was it so hard talking all of a sudden? His throat was slightly sore but it was weird..._ _hmm..._

"Are you feeling better?" Lucy beat him to it, making him exhale rather loudly.

"Mmm-hm" he responded while nodding his head.

"I'm glad. Just tell me if there's anything you need, okay?"

"Yeah... Luce?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks... thanks for... you know"

"You don't have to thank me"

"Maybe not... but still..."" he closed his eyes for a second as if he needed a moment to gather strength and courage "... thank you"

"Any time Natsu"

"Likewise" smirking he wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in a tight embrace. He gently squeezed her before letting her go. _Was she blushing...?_

"Ahem..." he coughed as his own cheeks seemed to respond to her blush. _Why was he blushing all of a sudden... wait before that..._

"Hey tell me something..."

"Yes?" she tilted her head, staring at him with a curious look.

"Do... you like it when guys wear a bikini?"

"What?!"

"Well... do you?"

"No I don't! What gave you that idea?!" she was blushing more profoundly, from either being embarrassed or mad.

"You never know. I mean you're Lucy... and you're weird"

"You're the weird one here!" she exclaimed before hitting him gently on his shoulder.

"Auch, that hurt so much... I think you broke my shoulder" he rolled his eyes dramatically "Ugh, no that was a lethal shot! I'm dying! Aaaargh!" he pretended to faint landing lazily on his back on the floor.

"... idiot..." she pouted, but soon started giggling.

"I know" he smiled genuinely towards her, but kept laying on the floor. _Floor's are awesome..._

They sat like that just enjoying the silence for a moment. It wasn't uncomfortable just... peaceful, being there and doing nothing.

"Natsu, can we be serious for a second?"

"Sure?"

"When I read in Levy's book, there was a description of what you might be suffering from and as I told you earlier, it's essential you talk to someone about your feelings in order to recover"

"Yeah, you said it was about me being a boat … but now that I think about it that isn't plausible, because I would be motion sick all the time..."

"... your logic is flawless..." she sighed before continuing "... what I meant to say was, there was another thing mention that might be vital, if you want to feel better"

"Ohh?"

"Yeah... it said something about gradually making you relive some of the things you've been through, so you get a natural view on your trauma. I mean it's like all the thing that happened in the past can become even more horrible inside of your head, because you might make it into more than it was"

"Huh?" he blinked in confusion not really following what she was saying.

"Okay, imagine your memories from that time was a ball of snow. When you got out of that cave it started rolling down a hill filled with snow and as time passes, it becomes bigger and bigger. Eventually it will be so big you can't control it. That's why we need to stop it from even rolling down the hill"

"So in order for me not to turn into a huge ball of snow, we need to go back?"

"That's essentially it, yeah"

"Hmm..." his stomach twisted uncomfortably "I... don't want to"

"You don't have to do it right now. Just eventually, okay?"

"But... you sure it'll help? You know going back there?"

"Yes and no. I mean the book said it was a subject where there aren't that much research. Besides it all depends on the individual. However, knowing you I think it would be a good solution, because you might get some sort of closure"

"I need to face my fears" he whispered to himself, recalling the conversation he had with Gildarts on Tenrou Island, when he was trying to take the exam to become an S-class mage. The memory gave him a new found courage and he grabbed it, like it was a shining light that could somehow remove the darkness in his soul.

"Luce, let's do it!" he raised his arm and clenched his fist in determination.

"Now?!"

"Why not? The sooner the better right?"

"But..." her voice was filled with concern as she continued "... are you ready for this? It might just worsen your condition if you're not"

"Honestly... I don't know... but then again I don't want to stay like this. If there's something I can do about it, then I have to grab that chance. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah... you're right. Okay, we should go talk to the team when you're ready for it"

"Well let's go see if they're at the guild. We can take things from there"

"Mmm!" she nodded enthusiastically and for some stupid bizarre reason the sight of her being so determined and happy made him blush. _Why was he blushing... again?!_

It then hit him like a lightning appearing on the clear blue sky. For some reason he was blushing more and more whenever he was together with Lucy! And he would blush at random things, he wouldn't have done earlier. For some reason an image of him kissing Lucy in the cave entered his mind, making him blush even further as if he was thinking about a guilty pleasure.

He shook his head trying to clear his mind.

_Yeah, they should definitely go to the cave as soon as possible... his mind was already becoming a huge snow ball that he couldn't handle or understand..._

* * *

**A/N:** Gajeel: you are FA-BUUUU-LOUS! And really OOC but hey it was a dream. People do crazy things there.

Bwahaha! XD

Natsu: You are so cute and oblivious I feel like pinching your cheeks! :) I know he might be slightly OOC in this chapter, but considering his emotional statement I think it's fair he is... well unstable.

Bonus info: I can't recall if I've mentioned this but Natsu is indeed suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. This is not something I know a lot about, but I have done some research and according to my knowledge there isn't that much information about which methods are best for the patient. Of course it all depends on the individual what approach is the best, but there is a thing called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) which is what I used as an inspiration for Natsu's treatment.

Ahem.. so yeah I'm off to play the new expansion of WoW! Woohoo! (if I can log on to the server, meeeh).

I hope I get a chance to update soon :) Be good out there! Hugs and kisses, Hejmdal :3


	16. Fateful Encounter

**A/N: **Okay, okay, okay... this isn't a drill, I am actually having a huuuuuge fangirl moment right now. Why? I bought a cosplay scarf that looks exactly like Natsu's! It's soooo soft and amazing and... (insert annoying female fangirl rant here).

Okay... ahem... that was mildly embarrassing... So you guys it is officially time to explaining no jutsu to happen in this chapter! Hooray :)

But first things first: I'm sorry this took like forever to update. I've been busy with some real life issues and I needed to edit this a few times, because I couldn't get to a point where I was truly satisfied... so yeah...

There's good news too though! I am happy to announce that there will be one more chapter before this story ends. Yay! Originally this should have ended with this chapter, but there was too much stuff I needed to add, so I had to create a new chapter.

Speaking of positive things this chapter is really, really long! Woho! I hope you enjoy it :D

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Fateful Encounter **

Natsu yawned while stretching the arm that wasn't in a caster above his head. The streets of Magnolia was almost empty at the moment, because it was rather late in the evening.

It had been a long day... really... and he couldn't wait to get back to his place. He was so utterly and thoroughly tired, that he wanted nothing more than to crash on his bed and pretend he was a starfish on the bottom of the sea, without a care in the world.

It wasn't that surprising he was tired though. After all he had broken down and cried his heart out in front of Lucy, until he felt somewhat content inside. That in itself was more than enough to earn a long nap.

However there was another thing that weighed on his shoulders, making him want to sleep even more... _The meeting..._

Yes, the meeting with Lucy, Happy, Gray and Erza had been... well not awful, but it was really tiring. Especially because all they did was talk... _and then talk some more_... Of course he voiced his opinion from time to time, but other than that he just listened. Or well he tried to, but sometimes he would space out and stare at nothing but thin air. It wasn't a deliberate action, like he thought the conversation was boring_... even if it was..._ no, he just lost focus. He had done that a lot lately, but his attention span was somehow more limited after his visit to the cave. _Who would have thought that was possible, huh?_

Shaking his head he tried to focus on the plan to make sure he remembered it correctly. First thing in the morning they would meet at the guild and then they would travel to the cave...

"Hehe" he snickered, because he somehow managed to convince them to travel on foot. Well the city wasn't that far away after all and he needed all of his strength... _right?_

Anyhow, they would then go to the cave and enter it. Hopefully they would encounter the creature in there and somehow take care of it. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure how or what they were supposed to when or if they managed to encounter it... _stupid attention span..._

"Meehh!" he complained while ruffling his hair with his hand. For some reason he felt annoyed because even if he was the one who suggested to Lucy that they went to the cave, he had doubts about his decision. Of course it wasn't something he was forced to participate in, but nonetheless Natsu felt obligated to be there.

_But still..._ the thought of going back made him shiver and feel really uncomfortable. Like he was scared of looking back and not moving forward. Of course the events would be like pulling a splinter out of his finger. A quick procedure to remove the pain and then he could slowly recover after that.

Well those were Lucy's words. She said something about him suffering from... _post... postal?... post train... something_... he couldn't remember what it was but evidently he was suffering from it and because of that it was essential he got closure somehow.

So basically it was a recovery mission to regain some of his mentality back. Plus it was a mission where they would do something about the creature roaming in the cave, because they couldn't leave it like it was. It was too dangerous... of course so far the guild had taken some precautions against the creature, but that wasn't a solid solution. No, they had to confront it and maybe make some kind of compromise...?

It all depending on it actually appearing when they got there. No one had seen it anywhere, not even when some of his guild mates went down there to search for it.

"They shouldn't go down there... no one should... ever" he whispered to himself, feeling anxious all of a sudden. It was such an unpleasant feeling he unconsciously started rubbing his arm as if he was cold.

Natsu was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realise he was home. He felt it though, as his face suddenly collided with the door making him growl in annoyance at the sudden impact.

"Stupid door..." he grumbled while rubbing his sore nose and entering his house.

Once he was inside he stopped in his tracks. For some reason he felt like an animal that was caught in front of a blinding light. Like there was something watching him.

_What the... _frozen in his position, he took a second to glare at his surroundings. Something was definitely there... something... _a presence?_

His primal fears was invoked, making him shiver involuntarily from the cold feeling that rushed across his skin and down his spine.

_It couldn't be... dear god no..._ his eyes widened in horror as the presence became more dominant leaving no doubt in his mind, that he wasn't alone.

"Shit" he cursed, clenching his hands in anticipation of what might happen next.

"My, my that's a warm greeting"

"You..." he snarled through gritted teeth as he spotted a shadow glare back at him with red glistening eyes "... go to fucking hell!"

"Naah, I can't go there without a passport"

"Whatever, just go! I don't want you here!"

He felt angry, sad and utterly confused. But despite the chaotic feelings rummaging inside of him one thought or feeling seemed to stand out: _He was NOT prepared to deal with this stupid creature alone..._

"I know..." the creature sighed before continuing "... I... I'm sorry..."

The silhouette sounded so sad it made Natsu flinch momentarily, as something seemed to spark inside of him. _Images... images from the past... blood... horror... the sound of Lucy feeling sorry..._

Natsu didn't realise he was panting, but he did feel how a thin layer of cold sweat was starting to pour down his skin, wrapping his body like an uncomfortable blanket.

"I can't keep going like this... I... want..." the silhouette inhaled and exhaled loudly before continuing "... I want eternal sleep"

The silence that followed was deafening, making Natsu all too aware that the only sound was him having difficulties breathing. He wanted to say something... do... well whatever! But he couldn't... his instincts made him freeze in horror, because he was facing something dangerous.

"You're speechless, huh?" it chuckled sadly "I'm not kidding you know? I know you're coming to the cave tomorrow and I want you... no, I beg... ugh! Back on track! Yes! I beg that you use a certain spell on me"

"Why?" Natsu managed to say as he narrowed his eyes, glaring in doubt at the shadow on his wall.

"I've been alive for too long... I almost can't remember who I used to be. My sanity... I can barely hold onto it any more. So please..."

"You're asking us to kill you?" for some reason Natsu started chuckling hysterically. Maybe it was the thought of it trying so hard to torture him without dealing the final blow, that he thought it was... well so stupid and unfair it was hilarious.

His laughter quickly died down and for some reason he felt energy rush through his system. Like another part of him had evoked. The part that was easily amused about nothing in particular and would laugh like a crazy person... _well he was kind of crazy these days anyway, no?_

"You know... that's fucking selfish!" Natsu smirked viscously while tilting his head slightly to the side.

"I know... but rest assured I should have died many years ago. This magic... the shadow... keeps me alive and prevents me from dying"

"Yeah right..." he raised an eyebrow in disbelief "... and I like holding hands with the ice princess"

"I know it's a lot to take in all of a sudden. It's a hard decision and blah, blah, blah... ethics and boring stuff... it's your choice so I'll leave the rest to you... see you tomorrow..." the creature grinned wickedly revealing it's sharp teeth "... Dragneel"

In an instant the shadow vanished leaving a puzzled dragon slayer, who blinked a few times before turning around to make sure that he was truly alone.

"For fucks sake!" his head felt like it was going to explode from the sudden chaos that escalated through him, like an avalanche that became bigger and more devastating as it continued to rage.

He felt so... ohhh so angry and restless! All of his previous fatigue was gone in an instant and for some reason he had an undeniable urge to let his frustrations out on something or someone. _But how? He couldn't wait until tomorrow... could he?_

"Ugh!" he glared at his left arm and he became even more annoyed by the fact that it was still in a caster "UUUGH!"

Frustrated he left his house and went into the nearby forest. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but he had to do something about his rage. Anything really as long as he could find something, he could use as a punching bag.

So with that in mind he started hitting on a random tree with his right hand. It didn't take more than one firm punch and then the tree was staggering before falling to the ground.

"You're going down!" he roared "Ohh wait you already are!" the laughter that escaped his mouth was high-pitched and on the edge of becoming hysterical again.

Still feeling the adrenaline pumping through his body he started kicking and beating the tree until it was nothing more than splinters on the ground.

"Is that all you've got! Seriously! You're nothing!" looking at the splinters he felt disgusted and a new surge of anger spawned from within. It was a feeling of pure hatred, that was blinding him and his own actions. He was losing control of his own body...

Roaring Natsu started once more punching the remaining splinters, this time with both hands. As he did, he ignored the sharp pain it delivered in his left arm whenever he used it. Heck, he didn't even notice how the splinters gnawed into the skin of his hands and knuckles. No, he kept punching as if he was a robot. Punching... not fully realising the blood that was starting to mix with the dirt... _just punching... punching... punching..._

For some reason he couldn't stop... he wanted to but he couldn't... _dear god... what was he doing... it hurt... stop... no... punch... stop it..._

"What are you doing?"

Natsu flinched in surprise at the sudden voice, making him turn in a swift movement to stare at... _an old man?_

"It's none of your business" growling he tried to decide if the person was a villain or not.

"You should stop"

"Why?" his voice was dark and almost dripping from the anger that was still clinging onto him, like he was possessed.

"Because you're bleeding"

"So what?"

The old man sighed before waving a hand in dismissal "I heard young people these days was masochistic but I didn't know it was to this degree. Take care of yourself youngster. Life is too short to hurt yourself. Trust me when I say you'll get plenty of opportunity to get hurt by others"

Natsu watched the old man walk away. When he was gone from sight he raised his hands and was astonished to look at the rather huge amount of blood and wounds on them.

"Shit!" he cursed, feeling the anger vanish in an instant "How did this happen?" well the answer was obvious but for some reason he said it out loud anyway.

An image of the nurse scolding him entered his mind, because he knew that even though his left arm was healing at a fast rate it, the actions he had made did nothing good to the healing process. No, on the contrary.

Another image this time of Wendy appeared in his head. Of course she wouldn't be mad... more disappointed in her own way. She wouldn't scold him and that made him feel even worse.

Natsu kept staring at his hands that started trembling uncontrollably. _No... why... _his emotions kept building up inside of him until it was too much to contain. And so he roared. He roared from the bottom of his lungs until there was nothing left, but an uncertain and emotional dragon slayer.

* * *

Sure enough Wendy hadn't been that mad at him, when he found her at the guild the next day. Well... she wasn't when he told her at first... but when he showed her his rather... ahem... unfortunate attempt at bandaging them and admitted he got the wounds the day before... hell took a hold of the tiny girl, making her radiant with fury like she was a mini version of Erza.

Truth be told, he couldn't remember what the girl had yelled at him. He had been so shocked that he felt himself vanish like a ghost from the scene. Actually he couldn't even remember her healing him, nor that she put on a new caster and some bandages on his hands. All of a sudden the task was done and he was tossed to his team who quickly scolded him, before they left for their mission. Well scolding was a far stretched thing to say... it was more like a staring contest making him feel almost humble for a second.

So with that overwith Natsu soon found himself trotting lazily out of the city behind his team, towards their destination. He truly wanted to put more energy into it. To portray some enthusiasm, but he felt so utterly and thoroughly exhausted.

Not that anyone could blame him. He hadn't been able to sleep that much because... well two things actually. The first reason he couldn't sleep, was because of the wounds on his hands. They kept itching and pricking in such an annoying way it made him restless.

The second reason was the fact that the creature had appeared in his house all of a sudden, which unfortunately reopening some of his mental wounds and scars. To make matters worse he felt violated because of the incident. His house had always been his safe spot, where he could be alone whenever he needed space. That image was ruined now... shattered actually and now he couldn't relax in his own home...

"Come on, stop dragging your feet! We're almost there" Erza boomed making him shiver for a second, but otherwise he didn't feel affected by her words as he kept walking as if he was a zombie, feeling more dead than alive.

"Yeah, yeah..." he exhaled rather loudly, noticing that a certain blonde was staring at him "... what?"

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked politely.

"Fine... I'm just tired..."

"You sure?"

"Yup"

"Are thinking about the creature's dilemma..."

"No, I'm not..." He wasn't, because after briefly telling his team about it earlier, they had come to the conclusion that they would take things as they came. They couldn't rush such a decision, especially because the creature would have to provide them with more information before making the final choice.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"No... not really... it feels too... fake? You know like I'm walking in my sleep?"

"It's too surreal?"

"Yeah..."

"Well if there's anything, just tell me okay? We're all here for you"

"Thanks" he smirked, not looking her in the eyes. For some reason he knew that if he did that, he would blush profoundly. _For some bizarre and silly reason... it was stupid really..._

It didn't take long before they reached the entrance to the cave and once Natsu spotted it he started shivering involuntarily. He didn't know why but he felt... scared? _No that wasn't the correct word to use..._

His heart started racing as if it was trying to break through his ribs with force. As if that wasn't enough he was beginning to struggle with breathing at a regular pace.

It was weird actually and for some reason he wanted to run. To get the hell away from there.

Panic! He was panicking! Not that it would do him much good knowing that, but at least he could put a finger on the feeling.

"I... " gulping he started ruffling his hair nervously "... uhm... I'm hungry?"

Everyone turned to stare at the dragon slayer, but it was Happy who voiced his opinion.

"I have a spare fish if you want it?"

For some reason the thought of food made him nauseous, so he shook his head towards the cat "Naaaw, I don't want to want your spare fish... I'm..."

The cat wasn't as oblivious to Natsu's mood as some might think. After all he had grown up with the boy and knew which methods to get him in a better mood.

"Natsuuuu... Lucy promised me that once this is over she'll dress up like Aries and then summon Gemini. And, and... then she'll ask gemini to take her appearance and then they will run around the guild like a pack of sheep saying BAAAH, while I chase them as a dangerous wolf"

"Really?!" Natsu chuckled wholeheartedly at the image in his mind "I can't wait to see that"

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Lucy had fire dancing in her eyes as she glared at the cat "You..."

"Aye!" the cat laughed as he spawned his wings, landing a second later on Natsu's head "Sheeee's lying... baaaaah... come on Lucy say something like a sheep!"

"No!" she stomped with her foot to empathise she wasn't that fond of the cat at the moment.

Natsu couldn't stop laughing at the sight. It was a good laugh and once it started he couldn't stop. No, it escalated through him, making the muscles in his stomach tighten at the sudden action.

"Heeh, hee..." he muttered as the laughing seemed to die down, making him remove the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes "Pheeeew! You're so adorable"

Lucy blushed while Happy smirked almost knowingly before saying "I know I am"

"We're all adorable, but this isn't the time to discuss that fact" Erza smiled, before grabbing Natsu's shoulder "Are you ready to do this?"

"Yeah..." he sighed and tried to look determined "... let's finish this"

"Good and don't worry I'll always watch your back. I will CRUSH this foe who dared violate my friend"

"Tehe..." Natsu smiled nervously while scratching the back of his neck, as he glared at the ominous aura that was starting to surround the scarlet haired woman. If he felt slightly scared about entering the cave, then that feeling vanished in an instant. He had his own personal demon right there and he was absolutely sure she could intimidate anything living or dead.

* * *

Natsu could feel himself shrink mentally as he watched Erza cracking her knuckles, while mumbling some rather horrible curses. Not that he could blame her, because she was currently glaring daggers towards the chains he had once been in. Gray and Lucy didn't share her reaction but evidently they had been there before, so they weren't as shocked or agitated as Erza or Happy was.

Speaking of Happy, he was shivering uncontrollably with small tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. The sight made him feel uncomfortable and almost bad, as if he somehow regretted that he had been in a situation, that left such a horrible sight for the cat to see.

"Happy?"

"Mmm?" the cat blinked a few times before turning to look back at him.

"You know it looks worse than it actually was, right? It wasn't..." Natsu knew he couldn't convince the cat with such an obvious lie. Heck, he was even having difficulties saying it out loud. "... you know... uhm... think of it as a scene in a horror story, kay? It isn't real, like real-real, it's fake"

"Fake?"

"Yeah"

The cat started crying out loud as he spawned his wings and a second later collided with Natsu's chest, resulting in the air momentarily to get knocked out of the dragon slayer.

"You..." the cat sniffed "... you're an idiot"

"I know..." he smiled softly while gently hugging the cat with his right arm.

"I'm glad you're an idiot, though"

"Really?"

"Yeah..." the cat snorted loudly before rubbing his head in Natsu's shirt. Satisfied with himself, Happy jumped down while smirking teasingly "... because you're so stupid you'll believe that it is your own snot on your shirt"

"What the... eeewww! You'll pay for this..."

"Stop this instant! We are not here to fool around!" Erza yelled.

"Yes sir!" both of them replied while nodding their heads eagerly.

"Good" Erza nodded and seemed to be pleased by their reactions.

"Uhm..." Natsu started rubbing his neck nervously "... so what now?"

"We demand the creature to show itself!" Erza unsheathe her sword and raised it in front of her, prepared to hack anything that might approach to pieces "Do you hear me? We demand that you show yourself, you evil and treacherous fiend!"

"I... don't think that's the best approach..."

"What did you say?!"

"Nothing!" Natsu gulped and waved a hand dismissively in front of him "I didn't say anything!"

"Hmm..." the woman narrowed her eyes in thought. As she did the aura around her seemed to vanish until it was nothing more than a presence that indicated her fury.

"I have an idea..." Lucy glanced around the cave and felt a wave of confidence as she took a moment to stare at the torches. Because of them the place was fairly bright, making it somewhat easy to see in the dark cave. Of course it wasn't enough to make everything visible, but it was enough for her to gain a tiny bit of momentum and determination "... I don't know if you can hear me or not, but we're here to answer your request. So please show yourself!"

It seemed like the longest and most quiet minute passed by, as they all glared around them prepared if anything happened. But nothing did... it was almost as if time itself froze for a split second as they listened to the sound of themselves breathing.

"Maybe he's on the toilet?" Happy asked trying to lighten the mood "Or eating a huge fish? Oh! Maybe there was a door bell we forgot to ring or maybe..." the cat stopped as he noticed something moving on the wall. It was vibrating and he instinctively felt that it was watching him.

"Happy what's wrong?" Gray asked before turning to stare in the same direction "Do you see any... woah! What the fuck...?!"

All of them turned to look at the shadow that was slowly taking a human shape. In the beginning it was was just a black silhouette with red glistening eyes, but eventually it changed shape until it turned into what Natsu would call his own counterpart with different colours.

"So you finally show yourself" Erza growled while pointing her sword in it's direction "You know why we're here, right?"

"Yeah... you're here to make sure I don't... mmm... play my games any more" it smirked teasingly revealing sharp canines that glistened for a second, making them seem more lethal.

"Yes, that is the correct interpretation"

"Did the kid manage to deliver my message" the copy of Natsu narrowed his eyes while tilting his head slightly to the side "hm?"

"He did, yes" she turned to stare at Natsu who was... well having a wide range of emotions portrayed on his face. Anger, sadness, pain... it was all there.

Sighing Erza continued "You wish for us to deliver the final blow. To finish you off for good, correct?"

"Mmm-hm..." it nodded enthusiastically "... or well it's more like I want you to use a certain spell on me"

"What spell?"

"It's a spell that use force, to break a contract"

"Contract?" Lucy's eyes widened in surprise "What contract?"

"A stupid one that happened many years ago" Natsu's counterpart turned his head to look at Lucy briefly, before turning his attention to the dragon slayer "do you remember that vision I showed you, where you had a choice to prevent the girl... well blondie over there... to die by the hands of your friend?"

Natsu shivered from the mental images but tried to seem unaffected by it "Yeah what of it?"

"You made the wrong choice, right? Resulting in you killing the girl and the spiky haired guy over there rather violently. You have to say it was quite the opposite of helping them, right?"

Everyone turned to glare in confusion towards Natsu, who felt even more exposed and fragile. He hadn't told them about that illusion... actually there was a lot of things he hadn't told them... _Maybe that was a mistake, huh?_

The way they looked at him with sympathy made him feel horrible. It wasn't because he didn't share his experiences with them, but hearing someone else talking about it made it seem more real. And it was too soon for him to confront it or acknowledge it on that level.

"It is kind of the same thing that happened to me. I had the same choice"

_What choice? _Confused he tried remembering the conversation they had in the vision, but it was all so blurry. In fact it made him feel uncomfortable and sick just thinking about it.

"You don't remember do you?" there was something about the question that triggered something inside of him, making him growl in annoyance.

"Yeah?" Natsu spat in despise "Well can you blame me for only remembering the horrible things I did, huh? It was a fucking massacre!"

"Pull yourself together, getting angry will lead us nowhere" Erza tried to smile, but it looked more creepy than affective "Now tell us precisely what you mean, or I will slice you to a million pieces"

"Yeah, that wouldn't work... my magic is... as you might have guessed shadows... and they can bent and change shape. So you can't kill me with a weapon even if you tried. No, the only solution is breaking the contract"

"But..." Lucy glared at the creature trying to understand if there was a hidden message somewhere "... you still haven't told us what this contract is all about?"

"I guess there's no choice then..." the counterpart exhaled loudly "... I'll tell you what happened... back then... or what I remember... it's been ages... well more like decades since I ended up here"

"What?!" Lucy's eyes bulged for a second in surprise "decades?"

"You're so cute when you look confused" the thing smirked towards her "I think I understand why he likes you so much"

"Who?"

"... so you're an idiot too, huh?"

"Who are you calling an idiot?" she was glaring daggers but stopped when she felt Erza firmly grabbing her shoulder.

"Lucy, this is not the time to be provoked. Now tell us what you know, before I change my mind"

"... I was trying to when the blonde interrupted me..."

"What did you say?" Erza growled with small sparks glistening in her eyes.

"Nothing!"

"Very well then, please continue"

"Thanks... I guess? Hmm... it all happened when I was a young kid. Me and my twin brother was playing around in the forest, when he fell down a huge hole, that just appeared in the ground all of a sudden. Evidently I tried rescuing him, but instead we got lost in this maze of a cave. We didn't have any light so we were stumbling blindly, but fortunately we found a fireplace by a lake. Actually it was this place... I think... it's so blurry... we didn't know where the fire had come from but it was a blessing because we could use it to make torches, so we could investigate the cave and hopefully find a way out.

I don't know how long we searched... it was hard to tell the time without the sun or moon to guide us. To matters worse we were starving because there wasn't that much nutritions in here. Some mushrooms and water, but you can't live on that forever. So... yeah as you might have guessed it was only a matter of time before one or both of us snapped. My brother did... he kept telling me that he found the solution in the shadows. That it was speaking to him and offering him a way out.

It didn't take long before he lost the final pieces of his sanity. When he did all there was left was a motivation that had slowly grown inside of him, because of the shadows influence. That motivation was to kill me. I don't know the specifics about it but I'm sure the shadow lured him with some deal, that if he killed me he could get out. But I can't know for sure.

Anyhow, he started chasing me around in the cave, trying to kill me. I tried desperately to plead to him but it was no use. At some point we ended up fighting against each other... once more I tried pleading to him, to make him snap out of it... and at some point it looked like it worked. I was pinning him to the ground when he started crying and apologising. He said... something... that he was confused and didn't know what he was doing.

I believed him and gave him a comforting hug. Why? Because I loved him and I told him. I also said that we would figure it out, because I firmly believed we could. I had faith that our bond was strong enough to conquer anything.

I was too desperate and delusional to actually believe that he had reverted back to himself, that I overlooked the signs... I felt it though when he tried to choke me with his hands.

Everything escalated quickly after that as my vision started to blur. I was dying at that moment and I almost welcomed it, because I secretly hoped that if it could help my brother I wouldn't mind being the sacrifice.

I was slipping away when I suddenly a voice speak to me... it asked me if I could stop it... prevent things from happening... if I would do it, even if it might have consequences.

Desperate I said yes, not really caring what would happen as long as I could keep my brother safe.

So yeah I made the choice to blindly accept whatever the voice would offer. It was a mistake... a huge mistake... I don't remember exactly what happened because I lost control of my body. However I do remember turning it into a slaughterhouse, where I was the butcher and my brother was the sacrificial lamb"

The creature sighed heavily before continuing "I made a contract with the owner of the voice... which I later learned belonged to a dark creature that lived in this cave. It needed a human body to continue living and it used me because... I don't know why. Perhaps it preferred me and not my brother?

So yeah it was all a trick... in order to save my brother I blindly accepted the offer and as a consequence it took my body and mind. My original body has been... in a bad shape... ever since I took the bait, but the magic of the shadows keep me alive. Essentially that means I can't die unless I break the contract"

The silence that came after that was almost deafening, leaving them all uncomfortable.

"But... that's horrible" Lucy whispered in a fragile voice.

"Perhaps... I don't mind that much though... I've developed a taste for the horror and a certain flair for the hunt. Maybe it's because I lost my sanity long ago... who knows?" Natsu's counterpart shrugged lazily "Besides I'm really good at using this power... well it isn't perfect all the time. For some reason illusions work best if it's related to something that is real. Remember when I came to your apartment girl? I looked like your Natsu because I was using a fragment of my illusion to show his current state. But I also revealed a decaying arm, right? That was because I really... really wanted to be there so I showed you my actual form"

"Your actual form?"

"Yeah my own body should have died long ago... so... of course it's... decaying"

"Eww..."

"But yeah I can alter things with the shadows. Turn into a bunny, show illusions... it's quite powerful especially for torturing people..."

"You..." Lucy stopped as a chill ran down her spine "... said that it's easy to copy a woman's appearance but not a man. Why?"

"I have no idea..."

"Could it be... that you perhaps used to be a girl?"

"Maybe? Who knows? Who cares?" it rolled its eyes in annoyance "Now will you do this? Help me break the contract?"

"What will happen when it's done?" Erza asked in a serious tone "Will the... thing... try to control one of us?"

"No... the creature has been attached to me for too long. We're practically one by now"

"Is that so? How can we know for sure that you're telling the truth?"

"... you guys and truth... well you can't know that for certain, but what would I gain by lying about it?"

"The creature might live when you die. That's a high motivation for lying to us"

"Even if it did survive aren't you all strong mages, capable of defending yourself?"

"True..."

"Besides this is the best solution for all of us isn't it? I mean you can't prevent me from leaving this place anyway"

Erza seemed to consider this for a second before asking "What do you want us to do?"

"It's a rather easy spell. All you have to do is chant a specific line while focusing on your magic"

"Wait..." the sound of an enraged dragon slayer filled the cave leaving no doubt he wasn't satisfied with the situation "... how do we know this isn't some weird trick? I mean it wouldn't surprise me if this... so called spell... has some nasty side effects or it might even have a different purpose than what you're telling us"

"Well if you want to look at the spell I've got it on a piece of paper... somewhere" the creature started clapping on his clothes randomly "... wait I had it a moment ago. Got it cheap at some blue haired girls place... seriously she had like a million books you know, so I thought she wouldn't mind if I stole this page... oh there it is!"

Snickering the creature found the page and held it towards Natsu, clearly implying it wanted him to take it. But Natsu didn't oblige but stood still, staring as if that alone could ignite something.

"Let me see it" Lucy was slightly irritated that the thing had implied it had been at Levy's apartment, but tried to ignore it as she in a quick movement snatched the page and started reading it.

"What does it say Lucy?" Erza inquired while glancing at the weird symbols on the page.

"Mmm, it should be safe. It's a basic spell really..." she pointed at a sentence "... it says here it will remove all obligations in the contract between the involved people... hmm... but there's a catch"

"I knew it!" Natsu roared while clenching his fist.

"It isn't what you might think" Lucy continued "It says that it only affects the people who made the contract. Therefore it can only do something potentially lethal or harmful to... them" she pointed her finger at Natsu's counterpart who snickered in triumph.

"See? I told you so" it started laughing hysterically.

"But what is the catch?" Gray said in a serious tone, trying to ignore the laughing creature.

"Well it depends on when the contract was made and the specific terms concerning it. In this case it might possibly lead to death since the shadow... thing... is the only thing keeping the original person alive. Even if they are essentially one, the symbioses they share would break as well, when the contract is broken"

"Ohh... I see" the ice mage took a deep breath before continuing "So are we doing this?"

"I don't see why not" Erza answered "Practically speaking it would solve our problem. Besides it sounds like it's more merciful to allow this person or creature to continue to the afterlife"

"You can't be serious?" Natsu's voice was dripping with fury "You actually think it's the best solution? Death is never the best solution, no matter how you look at it"

"Stop being such a romantic and delusional idiot! The world isn't coloured in black and white especially when it concerns death. I know you want everyone to live and that each person has an element of good that makes them worth saving. It's admirable, yes, that you don't want to kill the person who made you suffer so much, but this isn't a simple situation where you can judge that everyone lives. Natsu imagine if you could live forever and you did in solitude with a creature, that would do it's best to drive you mad. How long do you think it would take, before you craved for liberation, huh?"

"I... I don't know..." he sounded baffled but there was still a pinch of anger in his voice "... I would continue to fight, because I would know everyone at the guild was waiting for me..."

"Really?" the creature giggled in a high-pitched tone "Even if you knew, that enough time had passed that all of your friends was long gone? That everything you know was dust and bones?"

"I... yes?"

"You... are such a hypocrite!" the creature snarled in annoyance "Didn't you feel how liberating it felt when you escaped the horrors in here? The relief you felt when you lost your consciousness and was blessed with oblivion? Well let me tell you one thing mister I'm-being-fucking-selfish! I am NEVER liberated! I've been like this for decades perhaps even centuries and for the first time, I'm asking for help. ME begging YOU for help and YOU deny it! Why?"

"Because I'm not a fucking killer!"

"Ugh! That's why I told you I've been around for too long and that I should have died long ago! You won't be committing a murder but help put an end to something that shouldn't even exist any more"

"But... ugh! " Natsu was so conflicted and felt almost childishly stubborn as he started fidgeting and cursing in whispers.

"Natsu, I know how you feel, truly I do..." Lucy said while rubbing her chin "...but I think this is the best thing to do"

"I agree" Gray grumbled before exchanging a quick look with Lucy "This seems like the best approach"

"I couldn't..." Happy raised his paw as he continued "... I... wouldn't want to be in a world, where everyone I know is gone... but... I only want to do this if you think it's the best thing to do"

"I believe it is" Erza nodded "It seems like the most humane thing to do. Even if you don't agree on this at the moment Natsu, I hope you will see it in the future. With that said let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Fine!" the dragon slayer growled, clearly not fine with the situation "... what ever..."

The rest of the team shared a few glances with each other, not daring to provoke Natsu even further. They all knew his mood had been way off lately, but him being so stubborn about something like this was just... weird... of course he had always been a stubborn knucklehead but he was always open for reasoning... well almost...

Lucy exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding, before quickly explaining to the others how the spell, or rather chant, was supposed to go. When she reckoned all of them was prepared and understood her explanation she nodded towards the creature, who took a few steps away. It knew that whatever happened next might get messy somehow.

"You guys ready?" Lucy turned to the others who nodded in return. Well Natsu didn't nod more grunted in defiance, but she took it as a yes "Uhm... are you ready...?" she asked almost nervously towards Natsu's counterpart.

"Ohh yes!" it smiled brightly but it quickly turned into a genuine one "Thank you for doing this"

Nobody knew what to say to that, but Erza eventually broke the silence and stuttered a quick "You're welcome"

There was a short moment of silence before they started chanting the spell. Nothing seemed to happen at first but suddenly the creature started flickering as if it was changing shapes. One moment it was something that looked almost human and the other it was a black creature with sharp canines and red eyes that was glistening viscously.

They kept chanting as the creature started to roar in an unnatural sound that was so weird it sounded like something from another world. As it did it seemed to stop flickering.

At that moment it just looked like a black silhouette with what looked like standard non genetic contours.

The dark matter that was engulfing the figure started to slowly vanish. It started at the fingertips and slowly revealed more of the arm, that was a mixture of rotten flesh and blood. The meat was so decayed and disgusting, that it looked like it would fall off any minute and reveal even more of the glistening bones that was already exposed.

"I will stay with you... always..." a dark voice said and shortly after that the darkness surrounding the silhouette started bubbling and sparkling.

It looked weird, but also beautiful in it's own way. Especially when the sparkling bubbles started becoming like small radiant lights, that soon engulfed the entire person.

"This is it..." the dark voice spoke again "... we had fun while it lasted. It was an honour having you as my human..."

"Yeah we did didn't we?" an unknown female voice said before giggling "Let's have more fun in the afterlife"

"Yes... it's a promise"

There was a quick flash of light that blinded all of them, making it very difficult for them to see anything. However they did see the small frame of a girl with long curly hair standing in the light.

The girl smiled brightly towards them while laughing wholeheartedly with joy.

She looked so innocent and pure! Besides she couldn't be older than Wendy was... she was... just a kid!

The laughter that escalated through the cave was filled with that warm and loving feeling, only a child could make. It was endearing, scary but also sad...

"Thank you..." the girl giggled as the light started to vanish, taking her away with it "... I'll find my brother... and I hope... I hope he forgives me..." her voice was fragile but also optimistic.

A second later the light and the girl was gone, leaving a rather empty space because of the development.

None of the team members knew what to do at first. They just stood there looking at the thin air as if something might happen if they didn't keep their eyes on it.

Natsu didn't know how he felt. Annoyed but also strangely dissatisfied about the development. Of course he was glad that the girl got to go to her brother in the afterlife, but still... for some reason he still felt annoyed... it was just... ugh!

Igniting his hand he started walking towards the exit not really paying attention to the others. It wasn't because he wanted to be a douchebag or anything, he just couldn't stand being there any more.

"Natsu..." Lucy called and he stopped momentarily to hear her finish the sentence "... where are you going?"

"Home... there's nothing left for me here"

"Wait, we're coming too" she practically screamed before jolting towards him and grabbing his arm very gently.

"Please..." he whispered in a shaking voice, as he snatched his arm away from her reach "... don't..."

"Okay..." she was hurt by his refusal but tried not to take it too personal "... but let's go together"

"Hmm..." he wanted to say he was sorry, because it was obvious he hurt her feelings, but he couldn't. He felt so tired and... well violated for some bizarre reason. Right now he couldn't focus on anything other than himself and the sweet prospect of going home. He needed to sleep... to reboot... and by god, he just wanted to go home and leave this crappy place, as quickly as possible.

* * *

**A/N:** Darn it Natsu! You should behave and be nice when Lucy shows affection towards you...

H: "Or imma gonna invent a new creature to torture you"

Natsu: "Please don't! I promise I'll behave in the next chapter"

H: "Reeeeally?"

Natsu: "Yes"

H: "So... you're ready to show the readers that you are capable of loving other things than food and yourself?"

Natsu: "Uhm... sure?"

H: "Excellent... very good indeed" *laughs as an evil villain, before leaving a confused dragon slayer to himself*

Natsu: "I guess that's it? See you in the next and final chapter!" *blows a kiss towards the readers before he leaves the author's note too*


	17. Salamander Prevails

**A/N: "**The target has landed! I repeat! The target has landed... and it... is... oooooon!"

Heeey y'all! Are you ready for this? The final chapter before this story comes to an end? Well I'm not... or am I? To be honest I'm not sure... I guess I'm just confused and tired :)

And yes I'm sorry this took forever to create and publish. I wanted it done sooner, but I... well I bought Dragon Age and it is awesome and uhm... my mage in World of Warcraft was furious because I suddenly started playing a new game ... and ehh... Sims 3 was harassing me about not paying it enough attention... so yeah... basically I'm sorry that my gaming habits stole my freedom o.O

As you read this chapter you might notice that it is slightly different than the others, but I kinda like it that way, to be honest. Maybe you'll see it, maybe you won't. Perhaps it's me reading it differently for some reason. In either case it's cute and I hope you enjoy it :) And be warned: it's all about the feeeels maaaan! "Like actuals peoples feelings...!"

DragonFairy93: This is the chapter where I kinda redeem myself and fetch a glorious halo. Bwahaha! Hejmdal is a good girl XD

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Salamander Prevails**

"Ugh!" Natsu growled as he slammed the door behind him. He was still unreasonably mad and irritated by the turn of events that had unfolded in the cave. It was stupid, silly and utterly childish, but he couldn't prevent those feelings from overwhelming him. The feelings were like a bubble that surrounded him and sucked all of his willpower away and it was... so damn frustrating! _Fucking hell!_

It was almost like his lack of control had reverted him into a child, that wanted nothing more than to yell curses at the sky, while kicking innocent rocks.

"Bleeeeh!" he wiggled his tongue at the empty space around him, feeling even more silly about his unreasonable behaviour. Maybe it would help if he thought more thoroughly about the stuff that had happened, but he didn't want to. _Naaa-aaah! No way! Stupid brain!_

"Uhm... Natsu why are you wiggling your tongue?"

The dragon slayer jumped in surprise. He had completely forgotten that Happy had followed him back to their house. _How the heck could he forget that? The cat's presence was right there next to him!_

"Ehh... no reason... really... " slightly embarrassed he started scratching his neck "... I just feel... irritated that's all..."

"Ohh... I thought you might dislike it being so clean... I mean the floor is almost sparkling and... ohh..." the cat sulked as he pointed with his paw to a specific place on the floor "... you even managed to remove the spots where you dropped that huge piece of ham. That's... almost sad... I mean some might not see it as art but I did, because you could see where you dropped the ham and the spots where it bounced on the ground until it eventually landed on the couch..."

"Awww, don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll drop more meat in the future..."

"Speaking of meat..." Happy's eyes glistened mischievously "... if you accidentally dropped Lucy on the floor, do you think she would bounce like the meat did?"

"Hmm..." Natsu narrowed his eyes in thought "... maybe if she landed on her butt... I don't think it would work if she landed on her head. I mean her skull is hard like... like..."

"Your own head?" the cat giggled.

"What? No! My head isn't hard... is it?" confused the dragon slayer knocked his head a few times "Huh? Maybe it is?"

"... and you're an idiot..."

"Oy! I heard that!"

"Mmm-hm..." the cat hummed.

"Hey speaking of idiots... you uhm... said if I accidentally dropped Lucy on the floor didn't you?"

"Yeah?"

"Wouldn't that sort of require I was holding Lucy somehow?"

"Yeeesss" the cat sang while rolling his tongue.

"Why would I do that? I mean... for it to work I would have to hold her above my head... or in my arms... close against... my own... uhm chest..."

_Holy crap why was he blushing again? Darn it... _Natsu shook his head hoping the cat didn't notice the change in his skins complexion. But of course he did... nothing could escape the cat's curious eyes... _fuck... stop blushing!_

"Natsuuuu..." the cat sang in his oh-so-knowing voice "... whyyyy are you blushing?"

"I'm not! I'm just... feeling hot all of a sudden! Yeah! I'm gonna take a shower, kay?"

"Mmm-hmm... you're feeling hot? Has it anything to do with you thinking about Lucy?"

"Yes! No! Of course not! What are you... no... on second thought I don't want to know!" Natsu shivered involuntarily as he backed away from the cat heading towards the bathroom "I... I'll be back in few minutes... just need... to... clean... myself... shower... yes! Shower! See you soon!"

The cat sighed as he watched Natsu turn around on his feet and run towards the bathroom, where he slammed the door shut with a huge bang.

"Your head really is hard... and thick isn't it" the cat mumbled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. _He was hungry... like starving hungry!_

Happy opened the fridge and wasn't that surprised that it lacked fresh fish. But still... it hurt seeing it being so empty! A kitchen without fish wasn't a real kitchen!

"Hmm... what to do..." his stomach growled in response "... yeah get some fish..."

A sudden knock on the door made him jump. He had been so caught up in his thought of fish that he didn't hear anyone approaching their house. _Who could it be...? _He took a few sniffs …_Ohhh!_

"Come in!" The cat had huge stars of joy glistening in his eyes as he ran towards the door, which opened the same instant "And thanks for the fish!"

* * *

His cheeks was still burning hot even though the water that hit him was... well not ice cold, because he hated taking a cold shower... but it was still awfully chilly for his standards. _So why... why didn't his blush disappear? It was stupid... stupid... stupid!_

_Wait... _he took his head out of the water for a second … was there someone knocking on the door? _Yeah there was... meehh, of course he had to get a visitor when he was in the shower... ohhh wait... Happy was there to open the door... neat! Then he had more time to work on his... ahem... face..._

He briefly wondered who might be visiting them, when he smelled her distinctive scent.

_Perfect... _He smashed his head against the wall, groaning in annoyance … _fucking... timing... why would she, of all people come right now? Did the universe hate him or something?_

"Okay calm down..." he took a deep breath and plunged his head under the water, trying to focus on how the water felt as it splashed against his skin.

Seriously it wasn't like it was her fault that he was having... _ehh... wait what was he having?_ An annoying blush that wouldn't disappear? Yeah sure, but it wasn't like he should even care about that in the first place. Right? So what if he blushed! It was a normal reaction to... to what? Well... his blush started when he thought about carrying Lucy. Ohh sure, he had noticed that it was becoming more frequent that he blushed when stuff happened that concerned the girl, but it was still puzzling why he did that. _Could it be...?_

"Bleeh!" he spat at his own thoughts, trying with all of his might not to think about that possibility.

_But surely... it might be... noooo... come ooooon think about it! In the cave... didn't you?_

"Shhh! Don't go there brain"

_Yeah you did, you sly bastard! Yooou kissed her._

"I told you not to go there, damn it"

Now that the cat was out of the bag, he couldn't ignore it... but... surely the kiss in the cave meant nothing, because the only reason he did that was due to the fact she was dying and he was having a hard time controlling his feelings… right... riiiiiiight?

"Yes"

_No!_

"Yes!"

_No!_

"For fucks sake, shut up!" he smashed his head against the wall again, this time with enough force to earn himself a sore lump.

His trail of thoughts was getting him nowhere and everywhere way too fast to his own liking.

"Meehh..." he complained while resting his head against the wall "... this is a pain in the..."

Sighing he tried to calm his nerves by listening to his own breathing.

"You should do it Lucy!" Happy's voice boomed all of a sudden.

"... but... don't you think people might look down on me?" he heard her answer.

"Well you've already done it with him, haven't you?"

_Wait... they did what? Who? _Curious Natsu started paying more attention to the conversation.

"Yeah, but it wasn't a success Happy. It was... well really awkward if you ask me. I didn't even know what to do... well not in the beginning and then it just escalated"

"It's always awkward the first time"

"So I've heard..."

"Besides you secretly liked it didn't you?"

"I did..."

"And you want more!"

"Well... yeah... I'll admit it was kind of... exhilarating"

"Then you should do it again!"

"You really think so?"

"Aye! You're the perfect match!"

"Now you're exaggerating..."

"I'm not"

"But... don't you think another girl would suit him better?"

"No, it has to be you"

"Mmm... I'll admit I really want to do it again... you know it's like a guilty pleasure..."

"Well it's a guilty pleasure only he can fulfil isn't it?"

"Yeah, but that's mainly because there isn't anyone else with his skills..."

"Then just do it, okay?"

"Yes... yes! I will! I'll be Gajeel's girl one more time and see how it goes!"

"Aye!"

_What the freaking fuck did he just listen to?! No... it couldn't be... hell no! _Growling Natsu turned off the water and stomped towards the door. He was about to barge out when a sudden thought sparked in his mind. Lucy was out there... did he want to go there naked? _Why the hell not?_

For some reason he actually stopped in his tracks and before giving it a second thought he wrapped a towel around his waist, before opening the door.

"Like fucking hell I'll allow that to happen" he roared making both the blonde and cat yelp in surprise at his sudden outburst "You're NOT doing it!"

"But..." Lucy tried answering.

"No! He doesn't deserve someone like you!"

"It has nothing to do with him deserving me or not. It's just..." Lucy said while tilting her head to the side "... we have a nice chemistry together and even though it might not be perfect it's still fun"

"Since when?!"

"Since the last time we did it" she blinked in confusion "I mean there's still room for improvement but I actually liked..."

"Fucking shit! I don't want to hear the details..." he clamped his ears with both hands as if he was trying to empathise his words. To be honest that was rather difficult considering one of his arms was still in a caster. Furthermore it wasn't that pleasant because his hair was still dripping wet and dangling down his head, totally lacking its usual spiky appearance "...damn it!"

"Uhm.. Lucy I think I'll eat the fish outside..." Happy whispered as he tip toed away, vanishing like a ninja with his rather stealthy manoeuvre.

"Sure, see you later"

"Aye" and with that sentence the cat was gone, leaving the blonde and the pink haired boy in a rather awkward situation.

"Natsu..."

"Ain't listening! Don't want to hear it! La, la, la, la!"

"Natsu"

"... caaaan't hear you... naa-aahh!"

"Will you stop doing that!"

"La! La! LAA!"

"Stop it!" she said while gently placing her hands above his, trying not to hurt the cuts and bruises on them. Which was unsuccessful because he actually flinched at the touch. What Lucy didn't know though, was the reason he flinched was because he was surprised, and not because of the pain in his wounds.

"No! I said I didn't want to hear it!"

"Why not?"

"Because I..." he sighed and averted his eyes from her glare "... I would rather not know"

"But... if it makes me happy, then shouldn't you support me?"

"Maybe... but I don't want to"

"That's... that's just cruel and selfish! Other people might like it you know?"

"So what? I don't care what other people think"

"Ugh! You know if it is such a bother to you, then you should just stay away. No one if forcing you to watch us!"

"Fucking hell, who would want to watch that?!" he growled and in a swift movement removed her hands before turning his back towards her "You know what? Do what you want! I don't care!"

_Ugh, annoying! So freaking annoying and stupid!_ Blinking he cursed at the water that kept dripping from his hair and down his face. _Stupid hair... getting into my eyes..._ he blinked as a drop of water entered his eye. _Jeez! Ugh! Unpleasant!_

He felt so angry... _ohh so angry... _and yet there was a small amount of him that felt sad. Like a part of him had broken. His heart was beating faster and irregularly and it hurt both physically but also mentally. Really, like every time his heart pumped inside of his chest, it would spread the pain to his stomach and even his lunges.

_Why? Why was it becoming harder to breathe?_ Instinctively he clenched his right hand above his ribs while taking a few steps, trying to get further away from the girl who was standing right behind him.

"Come on Natsu, don't you think you're overreacting?"

"No, I don't! What are you even doing here, huh? Shouldn't you be with that metal head instead of being here?"

"What? Why?"

"Tsch! You said it yourself, didn't you? That you liked... you know... with him... so why are you even here, huh?"

"What? You can't compare what I do with him and me being here!"

"Ohh yeah? Watch me!"

"Ugh! What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, what's wrong with you?!"

"This is just stupid! How can you be so self-centred? I mean sure we didn't give the best performance the last time, but I didn't hear you complaining afterwards"

"You make it sound like I was there..."

"You were!"

"Hell no, I wasn't!" he turned around to face her and was surprised to see her body shaking in anger... a_nd it looked like she was sad too? What?_

"Hell yes, you were!"

"Beeh! I think I would remember seeing something like that"

"Well let me wake your memories then! I was wearing a bunny suit..."

"Damn it! I told you I don't want to hear about it!"

"... and Gajeel was playing on his guitar while singing... well like something that sounded like a cat that was being pulled by it's tail, but he's actually good with his guitar..."

"I said I don't..." he blinked in confusion "... what?!"

"Remember? You were definitely there. Okay I'll admit you were busy sulking about the guild not looking like it used to after we had to rebuild it, and shortly after our performance on stage, the guild went into a full blown brawl"

"... ohh... but what has that got to do with anything?"

"Moohh! It has everything to do with it! I was asking Happy if he thought it would be a good idea, if me and Gajeel started performing with our guitar and bunny duo"

"You... were talking about that? I thought... that... maybe... uhm..." he started rubbing his neck feeling rather uncomfortable all of a sudden "... other things..."

"Other things? Like what?"

"Ehh... hehe... " he grinned sheepishly feeling utterly stupid "... nothing..."

"Whaaat? Tell me" she smirked teasingly towards the now blushing dragon slayer.

"Uhm... I thought you were talking about you guys being... you know intimate..."

"Intimate?"

"Yeah, like... doing stuff..."

"What stuff?"

"Pervy things..." he crooked an eyebrow "... you know like... hanky-panky kissing stuff..."

"Ohh... oh!" her eyes widened in surprise "No, no, no! I would never do that! Eww!"

"Eww?"

"Yeah definitely eeeww! I mean seriously I would never... yuck!"

"Awesome!" he chuckled wholeheartedly with a toothy grin.

"Why is that awesome?" she smiled genuinely, slightly curious about his answer.

"Because that means..." he blinked a few times "... uhm... it means..."

"Yes?"

"Uhm... that I won't see you guys kissing at the guild? And that would be sooo weird, you know?"

"Yeah I get your point..." Lucy shivered visibly as if she was having some disturbing mental images "... yuck... really..."

"Mm-hmm..."

_Pheeew, he dodged the bullet_... He exhaled loudly ..._Wait? What?_ He blinked at his own unreasonable thoughts. _Dodged the bullet? What did he mean by that?_

"You look confused?"

"Ohh... ehh... no... it's just I..." he bended his neck backwards and stared at the ceiling, like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. _Damn it, why was it so hard looking at her all of a sudden?_

"Just what?"

"It's nothing... forget about, kay?"

"Okay"

Holy mother of goat cheese, he felt uncomfortable right now. For some reason he wanted to get out of there. Run out of the house and away from this unpleasant atmosphere. But then again he wanted to stay there... _silly emotions... not making any sense..._

"You know, I don't want to sound rude, but why is there a lump on your head?"

"Ohh" he responded while gently poking the lump "I hit my head against the wall when I took a shower"

"Why would you do that?"

_Aww snap!_

"Uhm... there was a spider... and I... couldn't use my hands, because they're still wounded and stuff"

_Hell yeah! Nailed it!_

"Hmm..." she tilted her head and glared for a few seconds as if she was trying to determine if he was lying or not "... okay. Speaking of wounds, do you want help putting new bandages on?"

"New bandages?"

"Yeah you need to replace the old ones after taking a shower don't you?"

_For crying out loud..._

"It's okay I can just... I can fix it somehow, shouldn't be that difficult..."

"Tsch, as if! It should be practically impossible for you, with your left arm and all. Besides didn't you just use your head to whack a spider, hm? Now go sit on the couch while I fetch the bandages"

"It's okay Luce, you don't have to..."

"Sit!"

"Okay, okay... jeez..." he rolled his eyes signifying an annoyance he didn't truly feel. No, he was secretly thankful that she would help him.

A few moments later they were both sitting on the couch. Lucy carefully putting on new bandages, while Natsu tried sitting still so she could fulfil her task.

It wasn't that uncomfortable... really. The silence, her being so close. It wasn't! He wasn't squirming on the inside and he was not struggling against a blush that seemed to escalate across his skin. No sir! Everything was dandy and perfect!

… _who the heck was he kidding! It was bloody torture!_

Fortunately for him his hair was not as wet as it was when he barged into the room. _Hooray, for small victories? No?_

After a couple of minutes, Lucy finally finished her task and left him alone to go put the bandages away. When she was gone he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

_Holy fucking crap, what the heck was that all about?_ _Pheeew..._

He started rubbing the lump on his forehead unconsciously, while closing his eyes. He felt exhausted all of a sudden. Like his life energy had been drained, making him... well tired.

"You okay?"

Woa! When did she come back? And why was she standing right in front of him! Fortunately he didn't visibly jump, but he was startled mentally.

"Uhm... yeah I'm just tired, is all"

"You sure?"

"Yeah"

"It's just you seem a bit off... has it anything to do with what happened in the cave?"

"N... no... I don't think so?"

"I mean I know it happened earlier today, so if it's too soon to talk about, that's okay too"

_It happened earlier that day? Yeah it did... _hmm, his perception of things seemed to be really off, huh? Speaking of which why was she kneeling right in front of him looking like... _like... a rock?_ Not an actual rock, no, he wasn't that weird, but she looked so confident and solid. Like he could tell her anything and she wouldn't run away while screaming with hands frantically waving above her head. Well... he had told her a lot that he would normally conceal deep within his heart, far from anyone to see... was that the reason?

Besides that she looked... not exactly sparkling but somehow alluring... like her aura was radiating her inner warmth and genuine feelings. _How did she do that?_

Natsu coughed a few times, trying to buy some time. He was so confused at the moment. Torn between telling her... everything? And sending her away. _What to do, what to do...?_

"No matter what I'm here for you, you know that right?" she said while smiling brightly towards him.

"I... know"

That smile... so warm and filled with compassion. _Wait... was it him or did the temperature suddenly rise? No?_

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Uhm... yeah...?"

"It's just your face is all red. I don't think I've ever seen it like that before. Are you feeling feverish?"

"No, no..." the air was suddenly caught in his throat when he saw her slowly reach a hand towards his forehead "... uhm! Well perhaps... is it me or is it hot in here?"

"Huh? I don't think so? Hey, hold still so I can feel your temperature"

"It's okay..." he tried dodging her attempt of reaching him "... besides I think I might have a higher temp... eeeehhh!" he squealed as she placed her hand on his forehead.

"Hmm... you're hot"

"Ey, don't say stuff like that!"

"Huh? Why not?"

"Be... cause... it's weird..."

"But... it's the truth?"

"Yeah well... never mind"

"O... kay?"

He shouldn't feel flattered but he did. _Wow, was that a new low on his standard about how he wanted her to perceive him? Damn..._

"So..." Lucy tilted her head while glaring at him, like she was waiting for an answer to something.

"So?"

"You didn't answer me? Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?"

"Ohh..." yeah he had actually forgotten about that "... I honestly don't know..."

"That's fine... however if it's okay can I say what I think?"

"Uhm, sure"

"I actually think you were right when you said that death wasn't the right solution. I mean sure, it's the easy way, but it's never the right path to choose. Don't misunderstand me I still think what we did was right, but that was mainly because it was cruel letting the creature live. And you saw it yourself didn't you? How hopeful the girl looked and sounded before vanishing? Of course we didn't know it would turn out like that, but when I saw her I was really glad we made that decision. She looked so... at peace..."

Now it was Lucy's turn to avert his stare. She was trembling slightly, almost as if she was trying to keep her feelings concealed within herself.

"I..." she exhaled shakingly before continuing "... understand that, you know? If I could I would give anything to get closure with my dad. Not that I want to die or anything, but I truly hope that I can deliver my feelings to him at some point, you know? That I..." she sniffed while hanging her head so her hair was covering her eyes "... wanted to see him again... and wanted... to say... thanks for believing in me too. For all the gifts he kept sending on my birthday, when I was away... to let him know... that I loved him too..."

Her entire body was shaking now and the smell of salt was a clear indicator that she was crying.

"I..." her voice broke painfully, making his heart clench in sympathy "... I... never told him that..."

"Hey..."

"I'm sorry... for getting all emotional and stuff..." she snorted while removing some tears from her eyes "... I'm so sorry..."

"Stop saying that!" he grabbed her chin with his hand and forced her to look at him "You have nothing to feel sorry for"

"But.." she looked so surprised and bewildered he almost felt torn about giving her a moral speech.

"No matter where he is I'm sure he understood your feelings. You said so yourself didn't you? That he had faith you would meet again and he believed that you would come back. Don't belittle his conviction! I'm sure that he knew how you felt about him"

"But..."

"When you heard about the incident at that guild that had been taken over... Love and Lucy? You ran there like hell was in your footsteps, because you thought he was in danger right?"

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you show him how much you cared through your actions?"

"Ye... yeah... I guess I did... but I also told him that I wasn't ready to forgive him yet.."

"But didn't he tell you that he would change?"

"Yes"

"And didn't he change after that?"

"He did"

"See? He did what he could because he knew that deep inside you loved him. I'm sure he wouldn't change if he knew for sure, that you didn't love him. So yeah, it's like I said you have nothing to worry about! Right?"

"Mmm-hm..." she smiled sadly towards him, with tears still streaming down her face "... yeah"

He was still holding her chin firmly and for the love of... something... he really wanted to let go, because she looked so damn fragile. But... then again... he was afraid to let her go. Like everything would crumble if he did.

It was almost like he was captured in moment. Staring at her smiling sadly, while tears was continuing to fall from her eyes. He wanted to do something, anything really, to stop her from crying. _But what...?_

"I... should get going..." she shook her head a few times before abruptly getting into a standing position "... I... "

He wanted to move but for some reason he was frozen stiff in his position and could do nothing but watch her as she turned away and walked towards the door.

"I'll see you soon okay... I'm sorry for the sudden outburst... I... I'll see you around"

_Holy... shit!_ Why couldn't he move? Or just say something? Anything? Especially because it was quite clear from her shaking, that she was was far from fine.

And to be honest it hurt... really down to the bone, seeing her like that. It was like her feelings was being transmitted to himself or maybe it just evoked something inside of him. No matter what it was it hurt... _it really fucking hurt._

"Wait..." he got into a standing position and was behind her a second later "... just wait"

"Huh? Why...?"

"Tsch, you said it yourself didn't you? No matter what I'm here for you... well... I'm here for you too"

"Thanks... but I... I'm fine..."

"Like hell you are!" Natsu practically growled as he grabbed her arm and turned her around so he could face her "You're not fine!"

"It's okay..." she whispered while glaring at the floor "... please don't worry about me"

"Look at me"

"... no..."

"God damn it!" he roared as he snatched her chin and forced her to look at him "Of course I worry about you"

"But..."

"Why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden? You were there for me when I was having a hard time, so why would you even think that I wouldn't be there for you, hm?"

"I... don't know... I'm sorry"

"It's fine... just... don't hide. I'm right here you know"

"I... thanks..." Lucy smiled genuinely towards him "... you're really dependable"

Daaaaamn! Why did she look so adorable and cute? Ugh... He really didn't think things through did he? Honestly... he didn't... one moment he was glaring into her tearful eyes and the next he... well... acted on instinct and captured her lips with his own.

_Why?_ He had no clue... well yeah, instincts …_perhaps?_

How did it feel? Ohh like his entire body was exploding with fireworks. _Heck yeah! It was freaking awesome! _Way better than the last time because he could feel her warm lips responding to him. Or responding was exaggerating the turn of events, because she was frozen stiff... well... yeah... he would be shocked too if he was in her shoes... and if she was the one suddenly kissing him...

_Holy shit what was he doing?!_

He stopped his actions rather quickly and turned his head to stare at the wall. _It was a pretty wall... harmless... it wouldn't hit him in 1... 2... 3... it wouldn't... hit... huh?_

"Natsu..." her voice was so fragile that it made his heart clench painfully. This was it... _ohh snap!_ He had heard that kissing before thinking about it might be disastrous, but to what extent? He didn't know...

"Ye... yeah?"

"Why... did you do that?"

"Uhm..." he turned his head to face her again. She was... blushing... was that a good thing? Well she wasn't crying anymore that had to be a good thing "... I don't know... it just... felt right?"

"It just felt right?"

"Yes...?"

She sighed while placing a hand on his shoulder "Have no one ever told you, that kissing a girl without her permission is... well a harassment"

"I... ohh... not exactly, no"

"So... did I allow you to kiss me?"

Ohhh darn it, he did NOT like where things were going all of a sudden...

"Uhm, no you didn't... am I in trouble or something?"

"Ohh yes!" she smirked teasingly "A bunch of trouble that might involve Erza kicking your ass"

"..."

_Auch... _that hurt more than he would like to admit. Of course he couldn't just push his own feelings upon her and automatically think she would feel the same...

_Wait... was he...? _Was he acknowledging his own feelings now? _Great!_

It still didn't answer whyyyy he didn't think things through? _Whyyy... _Well that was easy to answer. It was because he was a bloody idiot, that's why!

"But before that... Natsu I..." Lucy was blushing more fiercely as she continued "... I permit you to... you know... kiss me... uhm... again... if you want to"

"Okay I..." his brain tried to process her sentence a few times, but for some reason his mind just blanked "... what?"

"It's only if you... want to..."

"..."

"It's not like you have to..."

"..."

"... this is getting awkward..." she looked at her shoes before inching away slowly "... sooo... I... uhm... I guess... I'll get going then...?"

Get going? Why? Ohh... ohh crap, what was he doing?! This wasn't the time to have a minor breakdown. No, it was time for action! But... why couldn't he move?

He kept watching in horror and confusion as Lucy walked towards the exit... again! It wasn't until she took the first step over the threshold, that he snapped back to reality, from wherever he had been confined inside of his mind.

Once he did he took a second to mentally slap himself, before closing the distance that had come between him and the blonde. When he was close enough he grabbed her shirt and gently started to pull her back inside. Lucy didn't protest or say anything, but let him guide her actions. They didn't take many steps before they both stopped.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered but she heard him none the less "... I kinda spaced out for a second"

Lucy sighed before turning around to face him.

"That's okay... there's been a lot of emotions flying today, huh?"

"Yeah..."

She smiled brightly and for some reason the air got caught in his throat again. He had no idea why his body acted this way, because... well basically it was because he had no real experience, when it came to the touchy feely things. At least not to this degree... he had no idea that his feelings could be so vast, neither that it would be so difficult to fight against it. No, it was such a basic and mayor part of his primal instincts and it would surely do everything it could to guide his actions. Okay the word "guide" was a bit of an understatement, because Natsu was so used to trust his instincts and act accordingly to whatever they told him to fight against it.

What did this mean? That he couldn't escape its grasp. Of course he didn't know that, neither did it matter at the moment.

Time seemed to freeze for a second as they just stood there looking at each other, as if nothing else in the world existed. A soft breeze made Lucy's hair sway very softly, making it glisten like gold wherever the sunlight hit it. Her eyes were soft and practically sparkling with her own unique warmth and kindness, that was so characteristic for her personality.

For the second time, he felt himself getting devoured by his instincts and acted on impulse as he gently placed his hand behind her neck. She smiled in what could be perceived as encouragement and he didn't waste another breathe as he gently pulled her towards him and once more pressed his lips against hers.

He wouldn't lie, it felt more awesome than the last time! Maybe it was because she actually responded this time and it didn't feel like he was kissing a fish (seriously he did that one time because of a bet). Her lips were warmer and more soft this time, making it so much more enjoyable and thrilling.

The feelings rushing through his body seemed to intensify for some reason, making his skin prickle and shiver, as if he had just consumed the biggest meal and someone else paid the bill. Honestly it was the only thing he could compare it to and he already knew that it was insignificant, because what he felt right now was on a whole new level ,to anything he had ever encountered. It was new, fresh and by gosh, so much more than he had ever imagined.

His stomach was tickling like he had a million bubbles popping, when he stopped kissing her. It was really pleasant, even if it felt like his head was filled with hot air and floating above his neck.

Grinning almost sheepishly he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as firmly as he could in his condition. The grin on his lips became even bigger when he a second later felt Lucy wrapping her own arms around his waist, hugging him back.

Everything was awesome! Actually he felt he could conquer the whole world with this new found confidence. It was... well how could he explain it, without sounding like a complete moron? It almost felt like he had become a huge dragon that could take on anything or anyone who might provoke him. It was a boost to his self confidence that he didn't know could possibly exist. And why would he? This was a new territory to him. Besides who knew that something like this, could make such a major difference, huh?

He gently squeezed her and she gently squeezed him back, making him giggle at the warmth that was spreading rather fast through his veins, making him blush ever so slightly.

_Truly this was epic, amazing, cool... _and a lot of other things that wasn't in vocabulary.

Her scent being so close that it seemed like it was wrapped around both of them, her aura so gentle it made his heart skip a beat, and her body so warm that he could feel her life pulsating against himself. Everything was so alluring and exhilarating!

"You're amazing, you know that right?" he whispered in a low husky voice.

"So are you" she said while rubbing her head gently against his chest.

"You are... special... you're like one of the amazing and unique people that exist"

"Thanks... is this your way of telling me you like me?"

"Mmm-hmm" he nodded, blushing even more at her direct attitude.

"Hehe, you're weird"

"So are you, weirdo"

"But..." she gently pinched him earning a small yelp in surprise from him "...you're amazing and unique too"

"Yay!" snickering he strengthened his hold on her before spinning around a few times on the spot, making her squeal in delight.

Right now everything was perfect. It was almost as if the events came full circle, meaning that the past was the past and the present the present. Okay not exactly, because he had definitely gained some benefits despite of the horrors he had experienced. With time those wounds would close too and he knew that the girl in his arms would make that transmission even faster. At some point he would look back at it all and grow somewhat comfortable with the decision they made in the cave. Not that he resented anyone for that, but he still had to acknowledge, that it was the best decision they made.

Coming to terms with the trauma he had been through would take time no matter what, but he was getting there a lot faster and healing at a faster pace because of her. He knew that without a doubt in his mind.

_So even if all of this occurred because of one tiny mistake he was glad to pay the consequences. Of course he regretted even getting into that horrible situation that made him suffer, but it almost seemed insignificant, when it was compared to what he gained. So it was a mistake... yes... but it was a mistake he would always remember... and fortunately it was because of that, Natsu now found himself engulfed in a soothing and healing light..._

* * *

**A/N:** I just realised that Natsu is only wearing a towel in the majority of this chapter... wow... I blew my own mind there o.O

Anyhow! This is it! Goodnight to y'all...

Natsu: "Oy! You can't just leave it like that!"

H: "No?"

Natsu: (sighs heavily) "No, you gotta thank people for sticking with you and stuff"

H: "Right... uhm... thanks for all the kind words in your reviews. It was amazing! And thanks to all who put this on favourite and everyone who followed this story! You guys are awesome!"

Natsu: "Yes they are!"

H: "I guess this is goodbye then?"

Natsu: "Naaaw..."

H: "Huh?"

Natsu: "You're really dense you know... haven't you been working on... like three other stories?"

H: "Oy! Have you been peeping in my private folders again?!"

Natsu: "Uhm... ehhh... no?"

H: "... idiot..."

Natsu: "... you're an idiot too..."

H: "Hey! That reminds me... where did Lucy pinch you, when you guys were hugging?"

Natsu (blushes profoundly): "I'm not saying! That's up to the perverted reader to imagine!"

H: "Ahem... fair enough? So yeah, I hope you enjoyed the story and I really hope you have a lot of fun during the holidays. Lots of love, kisses, hugs and chocolate covered hearts from me to all of you"

Natsu: "All of what she said from me too!"

H: "Byyyyyeeeee!"

Natsu: "See you in another story in 2015!"


End file.
